KAHULUI - Sharon M. Suzuki has been named to succeed the retiring Ed Reinhardt as president of Maui Electric Co. as of May 1.
MECO's parent company, Hawaiian Electric Co., made the announcement of the appointment Monday.
Suzuki is currently MECO manager of renewable energy services and has served as MECO manager of customer service. At HECO, Suzuki was director of customer account services and manager of the residential and commercial/industrial energy efficiency program.
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Suzuki
Outside of the public utility sector, Suzuki's resume includes working in strategic planning and management consulting with Pacific Resources Inc., Coopers & Lybrand, Arthur Young & Co., Northrop Corp. and Hughes Aircraft.
The graduate of Castle High School on Oahu is a certified energy manager with a Master of Business Administration degree in finance from California State University at Fullerton and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and Japanese from the University of Michigan.
"Sharon has a collaborative management style and demonstrated ability to understand and address the needs of diverse stakeholders," said Reinhardt in a news release. "She's played a key role at Maui Electric and I know she'll do a great job leading the team."
"I am very honored to be given this opportunity," said Suzuki. "I look forward to working with the Maui Electric team to meet and surpass our goals for clean energy and customer service. With the foundation that Ed has built, we are well on our way."
In the community, Suzuki sits on the board of directors of the Maui Hotel and Lodging Association and chairs the Soroptimist International of Maui Youth Citizenship Awards. She also has served as a member of the County of Maui Energy Alliance and the County of Maui Community Working Group on Wastewater Management.
Suzuki will succeed Reinhardt, who is retiring after a 26-year career at the utility - the last 10 years as president. To create a smooth transition, Reinhardt will become president emeritus on May 1 and officially retire at the end of June.
"Under Ed's guidance, Maui Electric has become a global leader in integrating clean energy with large-scale wind energy, more than 600 percent growth in solar energy in the last three years and the use of biofuels for power generation," said Dick Rosenblum, HECO president and chief executive officer.
Rosenblum also lauded Reinhardt for "encouraging innovative projects," such as capturing power plant stack gas to produce algae for biofuels and in wave energy, electric vehicles and smart-grid initiatives.
"At the same time, Sharon brings an established record in strategic planning and managing renewable energy programs, customer service operations, integrated resource planning and energy efficiency programs," said Rosenblum. "Working with our strong operations team, Maui Electric will be in good hands under her leadership."
