HSDC President to Speak at Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship Lecture Series

The 19th Kipapa i ke Ala Lecture, entitled "Venture Capital in Hawai‘i: A New Era," will feature Karl Fooks, president of the Hawaii Strategic Development Corporation. HSDC, a state agency, partners with private sector investors to mobilize investment capital for the growth sectors of Hawai‘i’s economy. Formerly a managing director and head of private equity in Asia for J.P. Morgan & Co., Karl has extensive experience as an investment professional. Prior to that position, Karl was head of mergers and acquisitions in Asia for J.P. Morgan & Co. He holds a master’s degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and hails from the North Shore of Oahu.

The Kipapa i ke Ala lectures are sponsored by the Emmett R. Quady Foundation and Kamakura Corporation, and coordinated by the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship. The Kipapa i ke Ala Lecture Series was created in 2001 to help us understand how our state may benefit from the fast-paced changes in the worldwide marketplace. Kipapa i ke Ala translates into “paving the way,” which is a befitting title for the lectures that bring the best and brightest from the world of international business to share their knowledge with students, faculty and members of the greater Hawai‘i community.