Kaua‘i nonprofits select former Wailua hotel manager as new executive director

The Wai‘oli Corporation and Nuhou Corporation, two Kaua‘i-based nonprofit organizations, have named Ike Cockett as their seventh executive director effective Sept. 1.

Founded by Mabel Wilcox in 1975, the Wai‘oli Nuhou corporations preserve the Grove Farm and Waioli Mission House museums, and other properties, buildings and collections on Kaua‘i.

At the end of 2023 the corporations’ board of trustees appointed a five-member search committee who retained a Honolulu executive search firm to conduct a search and interview process, selecting Cockett from a pool of applicants from Hawai‘i and the mainland.

Cockett has been most recently the general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn Kaua‘i in Wailua and has held numerous management positions in the visitor industry on Kaua‘i, Maui and O‘ahu over the past 35 years.

Sam Pratt, president of Wai‘oli Corporation, said, “On behalf of the staff and board of directors for Wai‘oli Corporation and Nuhou Corporation we are excited to welcome Ike as our new leader. We have full faith and confidence in his leadership style and commitment to our mission.”

Cockett earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Hawai‘i and is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools – Kapalama.