Maui resident Ronald Williams has been chosen as interim president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
He will start as HTA chief from today, taking over from Mike McCartney, who moves to the role of chief of staff for Hawaii governor-elect David Ige.
Williams is CEO of Atlantis Adventures, a company operating submarine tours off the coast of Maui, Oahu and the Big Island.
Williams was first appointed to the HTA board in 2009 and has served as board chairman from 2010 to earlier this year.
"Ron brings with him an incredible wealth of knowledge of the HTA and more than 30 years of experience in Hawaii’s visitor industry," said current board chairman Aaron J. Sala.
"We are pleased that he could step in and ease the transition for the HTA, as we search for a permanent president and CEO."
The HTA board of directors has set up a committee in order to find a permanent replacement.
