A local girl, Shari Ogata was born and raised in various neighborhoods on Oahu from the sugar cane fields on Crozier Drive in Waialua to the slopes of lower Manoa. She is a Mililani High School graduate and spent many of her formative years in and around Wahiawa with her paternal grandparents and extended family. Shari currently resides in Kahala with her husband, Eric, an electrical and mechanical engineer and her son, a high school junior at Mid Pacific.
Shari earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Finance from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, as well as a Juris Doctorate in Law from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. After the CPA exam, Shari started her professional career at Deloitte & Touche, an international CPA firm, working in the Tax Divisions in both Seattle, Washington and Honolulu, Hawaii. After graduating from law school and passing the bar, Shari gained invaluable legal experience working in various private, public, and not-for-profit firms, eventually starting her own law practice helping those less fortunate than herself.
Shari’s passion for real estate started early. At a young age, she learned from her parents and grandparents about the power of land ownership in Hawaii. Starting over 25 years ago with her first purchase of a condominium near Punahou School, Shari has slowly and steadily built and managed her own portfolio of residential real estate as a buyer, seller, and lessor. Shari has also been investing, building, renovating, managing, and leasing commercial real estate for the last 23 years as an owner and officer for a large local corporation.
Shari’s experience in accounting, law, and real estate prepared Shari for leadership positions as an owner and officer of a large multi-million-dollar company, first as the Chief Financial Officer, then as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Pioneer Contracting Company/dba Pioneer Ace Hardware. At Pioneer, Shari managed a staff of over 140 employees in multiple states in a multi-faceted business with three separate divisions: a construction company operating primarily on military bases in Oahu, Hawaii; multi-chain, multi-state Ace Hardware stores; and a commercial property division that owns, develops, and leases multiple properties and shopping centers on Oahu and on the mainland. Under her guidance, Pioneer thrived with double digit increases in both top line sales and bottom-line profits, even through the Great Recession. Shari recently sold her ownership interest in the company, which has allowed her to concentrate all her efforts on her passion for real estate.
With her wealth of real estate, accounting, legal, and business experience, Shari is uniquely prepared and qualified to handle all aspects of her clients’ real estate transactions. Her accounting background provides the financial discipline and attention to detail necessary to scrutinize your transaction from every angle, while her legal background is invaluable in risk analysis and negotiation of the best possible price and terms. Her experience as a business owner/operator provides her with a big picture perspective to determine whether a real estate transaction makes sense for a client’s given situation.
Real estate has always been Shari’s passion. It is her goal to provide her clients of all experience levels, from first-time buyers to experienced real estate investors, with the highest level of professional excellence. Shari attributes her success to her deep faith, her supportive husband and son, her dedication to excellent customer service, and her commitment to and passion for helping others in whatever capacity she can.
