One Day That Sharpens Your Entire Year
The Kona Coast Leadership Summit gathers the owners, executives, and rising leaders shaping business on the Big Island. No filler sessions. One focused day built around a single question: What does peak performance look like for you, your team, and your business?
Meet the Speakers
Leaders who have built, scaled, and sustained real businesses here on the Big Island. They speak from experience, not theory.
Manu Powers is a Native Hawaiian business owner, nonprofit leader, and community advocate. Recognized as Hawaiʻi's 2026 SBA Small Business Person of the Year, Manu serves as Regent of the Daughters of Hawaiʻi, a worldwide organization stewarding two of the three palaces in Hawaiʻi. Along with her husband, Manu has owned and operated Sea Quest Hawaiʻi for over a decade and serves on the Kailua Village Improvement District Board, the Ke Kai Ala Foundation Board, the Hawaiʻi Public Radio Community Advisory Board, the Queen Liliʻuokalani Community Advisory Board, and is a member of the Executive Committee of The Healy Foundation. Most recently, Manu was elected to serve on the Hawaiʻi County Council representing District 7 beginning in December.
Mark is a business consultant and nonprofit leader helping organizations implement AI tools. His expertise is using data driven decision making to shred half baked methodology. Over the last 7 years he has managed teams of 5-100 people on 6 continents. He uses his data analytics certifications to think through complex problems, but always applies solutions with the experience of having lead in 10+ organizations and across many different multi-cultural contexts. Having consulted on small and large teams, he has learned the language and action steps required to move groups of any size past ideation and into practical execution.
Taylor Stutts is a speaker, connector, and marketing strategist with more than 15 years of experience helping businesses and nonprofits turn vision into action. He has helped develop campaigns, conferences, and events that have engaged tens of thousands of people across the U.S. and around the world.
Taylor is passionate about bringing people together, building meaningful partnerships, and helping organizations develop strategies that create measurable impact.
Johnny Gillespie is based in Kona, Hawaii, where he publishes Kona Coast City Lifestyle, a lifestyle magazine serving the Big Island. His role puts him in close contact with local business owners across West Hawaii, building the kind of long term partnerships that keep a community healthy and connected across the business world. Alongside his work on the Big Island, Johnny also serves as the Global Director of Outcomes with The Send, a global mission mobilization nonprofit, giving him a leadership perspective that spans both local business relationships and international organizational work.
Summit Sponsors
Put your brand in front of 100+ of the Big Island's most engaged business leaders, in the most prestigious room on the island.
Interested in sponsoring the 3rd Annual Kona Coast Leadership Summit? Align your brand with leadership, community, and the Four Seasons standard.
Become a Sponsor