Bette K. Hiramatsu

Since 1988, Bette Hiramatsu has focused on middle market businesses facing financial and/or operational challenges or seeking guidance to grow to the “next level” of output and results.  Ms. Hiramatsu has a proven track record of leading her clients to new levels of earnings and cash flow through creative problem solving and strategic planning.  Her management tools including financial forecasting, asset management, process improvement and balance sheet enhancement and management have been vital to the success of her engagements and highly valued by her clients. 

Hiramatsu’s consulting engagements range from family-owned and operated businesses to publicly traded corporations with sales of well over $100 million.  She has experience covering a wide array of industries: retail, manufacturing, distribution, automotive, printing and publishing and professional and other services industries.   

Retail clients include: Crazy Shirts, a vertically integrated apparel retailer based in Hawaii; Barry’s Jewelers, a publicly traded jewelry chain, now known as Samuel’s Jewelers; Malibu Shirts; and MPG Group, a vertically integrated women’s apparel start-up.  Manufacturing clients include: Elevator Research and Manufacturing, an elevator component and fixture manufacturer; Junk Food Clothing, a high-end t-shirt manufacturer/distributor; Scotch Paint, an architectural paint manufacturer; and Systems Engineering and Management Company, a defense sub-contractor.  Automotive clients include: 3D Collision Centers; Glendora Autocraft; Henson and Son Auto Body; and (Mercedes-Benz) Marina Auto Body.  Distribution clients include: NH3 Service Company of Santa Maria, CA, a distributor of agricultural fertilizers and pesticides; Pacific Video Products, a wholesaler of professional video equipment; Su Mano, a fulfillment company serving manufacturers and commercial printers; and SeraCare Life Sciences, a distributor of serum products used for medical diagnostics. 

In printing and publishing, former clients include: Birmingham Press, a paperback book publisher and web and sheet-fed commercial printer; Holden Color, a high-end sheet fed commercial printer; and Rangefinder, an industry-specific magazine publisher.  Former clients in the service sector include: Family Achievement Centers, a supplemental programs provider for public school districts; Naturalists-At-Large, a provider of educational environmental programs for private high schools; Sierra Investment Management, an investment advisor. 

Other experience includes the commercial finance industry with LitFunding Corporation, a litigation expense financing business; construction with Top End Constructors, a specialty commercial flooring company; and the restaurant industry with the Angeli Cafe chain.  She was previously a Vice President with both Union Bank and Chemical Bank for over ten years working with privately-held, middle market businesses and major, publicly-traded corporations. 

Hiramatsu attended Waseda University, International Division, in Tokyo, Japan; and earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.  She is a member of the Turnaround Management Association, the Association for Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, the Association for Corporate Growth, the Executive Committee of the Apparel Industries Group for the City of Hope National Medical Center; and has served on the board of the Executive MBA Alumni Association at UCLA.