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The Honolulu Advertiser reports that embattled president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Rex Johnson, has resigned. Johnson was mired in a controversy over inappropriate emails he had viewed and sent on a company computer. The Hawaii Tourism Authority board accepted Johnson’s resignation while remarking on his five years of exceptional leadership. An interim CEO will be named soon and a search committee for Johnson's successor will be set up immediately. The controversy erupted last summer and, at that time, Johnson’s contract was reduced to one year and his salary was cut. Later, when the e-mails were made public and their racist and sexist nature was disclosed, Johnson proved to be too much of a distraction for a state battling to improve its tourism figures.