20 for the Following 20: Jen Lau, Finance Enterprises

As government VP of the family company, she is doing work to “evolve our leadership types,” with an eye on locating and cultivating regional talent.
Photo: Aaron Yoshino

Jen Lau
Govt VP, Finance Enterprises

When most enterprises were being in pandemic survival method, Jen Lau was trying to find out prospects for advancement. Lau is executive VP at Finance Enterprises, the holding business for Finance Variables, Finance Insurance policies and genuine estate business Waipono Investment Corp.

Considering the fact that taking on the career in 2020, Lau has targeted on modernizing processes and systems, when trying to keep correct to a family members organization commenced in 1952. Lau will work along with her father, Russell Lau, chairman and CEO at Finance Enterprises, and her partner, Rob Nelson, president at Finance Elements.

“We’re making an attempt to evolve our leadership designs,” she suggests. “In the previous it is been a best-down leadership design. That has gotten us to where by we are but (it) will not be opening the doorway to the long term. We want suggestions to arrive from all degrees of the business.”

Pleasure Barua, president and COO of Finance Insurance coverage, says Lau “wants to consider factors to the upcoming frontier” and touts her attempts as the chief architect of an agency-of-option product that helped Finance Insurance plan entice 10 further insurance policies agents in just one calendar year.

“We deal with a good deal of incredibly hot-button concerns, but she’s always relaxed and smiling,” says Barua. “I would say strategic spontaneity is wherever Jen thrives. We may be obtaining a challenging conversation … she understands how to get people today into alignment to converse about items. That is an art.”

A graduate of Punahou, Wellesley College or university and MIT’s Sloan Faculty of Administration, Lau’s profession path has provided senior leadership positions at StubHub and eBay. In faculty, she interned for U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye.

Lau is also energetic in the neighborhood, serving on the boards of Girl Scouts of Hawai‘i, the Present Basis of Hawaii and the East-West Heart Basis. And she’s as adept on the soccer field as she is in the company planet: Lau competed at the collegiate degree and even met her husband whilst taking part in soccer. The pair has a 3−year-old son and 1−year old daughter, who will most likely be putting on very small cleats shortly.

“I’ve been thinking about how coming home to the Islands is noticed as a sacrifice,” claims Lau. “But it can be exceptionally rewarding personally and professionally for a whole lot of individuals. I’m strongly versus this notion that ‘the expertise isn’t in this article in Hawai‘i.’ Perhaps our leadership designs are not finding that outstanding expertise. I want to start with my organization and empower that, and hopefully have a positive result.”