The HLH Team
HLH has been blessed with a wealth of talent both within the Company and among our Associates. We would like to take the opportunity to introduce you to these individuals. Everyone connected with this project realizes how special an opportunity this is. Hawaii is the only place within the United States that we can grow a diverse selection of tropical hardwoods. If you are already a tree owner or sponsor, you have probably spoken to an account manager and one or more of our management staff. Please take a moment to get to know who we are.
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Jeffrey Dunster, CEO
I received my academy training, my commission in the U.S. Army and my degree in Business from Norwich University in 1982. I served in the Hawaii National Guard as an officer and helicopter pilot & loved every minute of it.
I have worked in the investment industry most of my life, specializing in the area of mergers & acquisitions with my longtime friend and business partner, Darrell Fox. Over the years, we had the privilege of consulting more than two dozen companies worldwide and from many diverse industries. Our expertise in the inner workings of public companies even allowed us the privilege of heading two large shareholder actions in which we successfully removed entrenched corrupt management and restored fiscal controls back to the shareholders.
As cliché as it sounds, however, my most challenging and rewarding job has been that of a dad. I have five children who mean everything to me. As any parent can tell, the single most important thing you can do for your children is to be a good example. It is so important that we instill in them, a moral compass, one that balances personal goals with personal responsibility. Seeing the condition of our planet today saddens me. Clearly, some members of our own generation and those who came before us, lacked that type of character and have, in turn, placed a huge burden on your children and mine.
No single act will repair the environment and no government will ever be able to legislate morality by passing laws. It's simply up to each one of us to make right choices and to pass on that legacy to our children. Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods was created to allow a new generation of socially responsible individuals an opportunity to have a tangible way of helping the process of healing the planet for themselves, their loved ones, & for generations to come.
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Darrell Fox, COO
For the last 20 years, I have worked with my partner, Jeffrey Dunster, as a consultant to companies both public and private. My special area of interest was companies with operations in the environmental and biomedical fields. One thing that the investment industry taught me is that years of education are only a tool kit that one must decide how to apply to the real world. Another is that, as the world changes, one must direct their attention to fields that will thrive under the new paradigm.
Deforestation is becoming a global calamity, but it is also the signpost to an incredible opportunity. The growing shortage of tropical hardwood lumber is driving prices at an average of 13% per year. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization expects that rate to increase. As a hard asset, lumber of all kinds will rise in value in response to inflation. This makes it a defensive strategy in troubled economic times. I see it as my responsibility to the planet and, more personally, my responsibility to my wife and children to be a part of the solution.
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Andrew Callister, PhD, Eco-Asset Management
Andrew Callister has an extensive background in commercial plantation research and business development. He is also a highly qualified research scientist with a PhD from the University of Melbourne (Australia) and a solid publication record. Some of Andrew’s key achievements include leading advanced-generation tree improvement programs for eucalyptus, teak, and sandalwood, developing innovative statistical methods to quantify competition in field trials and genetic effects on stand uniformity, planting and publishing results from the first cloned progeny trial of teak, and managing the largest control-pollinated tree seed program in Australia.
Andrew has been the principal consultant for Treehouse Consulting since 2009. He has developed expertise in improving the value of tropical plantation timbers and he has become an internationally recognized authority on the management and genetic improvement of teak. Andrew has also cultivated an understanding of the ecological benefits of planted forests that have emerging monetary values including carbon, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and maintenance of social functions.
A passion for combining ecological values into profitable plantation enterprises culminated with Andrew’s formation of Shelterwood Forests Pty. Ltd. in 2013. This business was established to create forests that provide environmental and social services while maximising revenues from timber and non-timber values.
Andrew combines technical competence and business acumen in his role with HLH to capitalize on the emerging opportunities in eco-asset monetization.