Dive Brief:
- Hawaiian Electric Co. (HECO) has named Alan Oshima its new president and CEO, effective October 1. He will succeed Dick Rosenblum, who has served since 2009.
- Oshima will take over the utility as it works to reposition itself in the industry, with a goal to nearly triple the amount of distributed solar on its system and reach 67% renewables by 2030.
- Oshima is not new to HECO; he has worked with the utility since 2008 when he joined the utility's board of directors. In 2011, he left the board to join parent company Hawaiian Electric Industries (HEI) as executive vice president for corporate and community advancement.
Dive Insight:
Oshima will take the reigns at HECO as the utility begins executing an aggressive plan to to add more solar resources and integrate the highest level of renewable energy in the country by 2030.
In a statement, Oshima said he understands the energy environment is changing and that the utility must adapt. "We need to be more responsive, working collaboratively with our customers and the greater community," he said. "I’m confident that together we can achieve the clean energy future we all want for Hawaii.”
“We need to move away from a traditional utility model to become a responsive, affordable energy services provider for our customers, and I’m confident Alan is the right leader to guide our utility through this transformation,” added Connie Lau, chairman of the board for HECO and president and CEO of its parent company HEI.
Oshima was senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Hawaiian Telcom from 2005 to 2008 and later helped the company successfully emerge from reorganization as a senior adviser and director in 2010. Oshima was founding partner of the law firm Oshima Chun Fong & Chun.
