Executive Insight: Brent Hardy reflects on 10 years in Hawaii and shares what’s next

July 12, 2024

By Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros – Associate Editor, Pacific Business News, July 11, 2024

Brent Hardy grew up in the corporate world, following in the footsteps of his father, John Hardy, who founded hospitality and real estate investment and development firm The Hardy Group, formerly The John Hardy Group, in Atlanta in 1992.

“I was stuffing marketing envelopes as a 12-year-old when my dad started the business,” Brent Hardy, president of The Hardy Group, said in an interview with Pacific Business News.

Hardy started in the company in 2008 as a project director and assumed his current role in January of 2022, now overseeing the firm’s strategic direction and overall operations in Atlanta, where he is based, as well as in Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Chicago and Honolulu.

He led The Hardy Group’s expansion to the West Coast, which included launching an office in Hawaii a decade ago. The first project the firm managed in the state was the redevelopment of the Four Seasons Resort Lanai. Hardy previously worked on converting the Waikiki Trade Center into the Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach, along with then-managing director Lars Fitter – work that was completed in 2017.

The firm’s other local clients include the Queen Kapiolani Hotel, Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, The Royal Sonesta Kauai Resort Lihue, Four Seasons Maui, Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort and, most recently, The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Kaanapali.

“Our slogan, ‘Be nice, be honest, and be the best in the business,’ aligns well with my experience so far in Hawaii,” Hardy said. “I love what I do, and I love doing it in Hawaii.”

Hardy is a licensed architect and a member of the American Institute of Architects, The Urban Land Institute, The International Society of Hospitality Consultants and Young Presidents’ Organization. He received two master’s degrees in architecture and business administration.

The Hardy Group employs six full-time staff members based in Honolulu, of nearly 70 people companywide.

What industry trends and challenges are you currently experiencing?

We’re seeing regional trends in investment activity. The challenge in today’s market, even with [high] interest rates, is the macro-level economic issue. For us, we have seen this as a challenge for clients getting projects started, keeping progress going. In Hawaii, projects that I’d normally see activity on, we never get to that point. That’s not just in Hawaii but across the U.S. There’s been a slowdown in transaction volume, which is a large part of our business. For real estate development, it’s also a challenging time. We’re looking forward to the next upturn.

What have you been learning lately as a leader?

I tell my team, “Everyone’s a great leader when things are going really really well.” This is when all the investment in our people, strategy, company and clients pays off because this is when you have to be at your best. You just have to know the tough times will pass.

What I’ve learned as president is there is a difference from managing projects to people. I’ve realized everyone is motivated differently. Part of my role as a leader is to make sure people have the confidence to rely on us and so far, that’s worked well.

What advice would you give to a new leader?

Another aspect of my job is identifying up-and-coming leaders and helping them reach their goals. Successful leaders are curious and ask questions. If you’re given [a task] and you don’t understand it, spend four hours on the weekend understanding it – take it apart, put it back together. The more you can invest in learning the deep basics of your job, I think that as you get older, when your time is less available, that base of knowledge can’t be replaced. You can’t fake experience and expertise. You can only get that through hard work and investing your time into it.

What hiring/retention strategies have you found most successful?

Most of the executive leaders in our company have been with us for [more than] a decade, working their way up the ladder. I can teach skills, but I can’t teach interest or passion for what we do. We spend a lot of time investing in the right people. On the recruitment side, we aim to interview well to [hire] people who will find success in the role. On the retention side, we’re proud of living out our company culture, taking care of our employees, who in turn, take care of our company.

Your company has had a presence in Hawaii for 10 years. How will you ensure success for the next 10 years?

For those skeptical of a Mainland company doing work in Hawaii, I would hope that our track record over the past 10 years has convinced them that we’re here to stay. We’re invested in Hawaii long-term. At 10 years, we feel we’ve accomplished more than we ever thought we could. We’ve worked on several projects – large and small – in Hawaii, and we’ve been successful in all of them. We’re open to working with new businesses.

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