Scott Seu Replaces Retiring Connie Lau as President & CEO of Hawaiian Electric Industries

Constance “Connie” Lau, president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric Industries, is retiring after 15 years as the leader of the parent company of electric utility Hawaiian Electric and community bank American Savings Bank.

Scott Seu, currently the president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric (Hawaiian Electric Industries’ largest subsidiary) will take over for Lau, effective Jan. 1, 2022.

Seu, 55, also will replace Lau on the Hawaiian Electric Industries (HEI) board of directors and as chair of the American Savings Bank board of directors, also effective Jan. 1, 2022. 

Shelee Kimura, senior vice president of customer service and public affairs at Hawaiian Electric, will succeed Seu as the utility’s president and CEO, becoming the first female chief executive in the company’s 130-year history.  

Lau has been with HEI companies since 1984, holding the top post at HEI since 2006. She served as president and CEO of American Savings Bank from 2001 to 2008,  and prior to that, held key leadership positions at HEI and Hawaiian Electric. 

The appointments of Seu and Kimura, as well as the appointment of Ann Teranishi, who  became president and CEO of American Savings Bank earlier this year, came as part of a multi-year succession planning process undertaken by the boards of directors of HEI, Hawaiian  Electric and American Savings Bank. 

“With years of experience in our companies and in the communities we serve, Scott and Shelee have helped lead Hawaiian Electric’s clean energy transformation and are committed to the decarbonization of our economy and the health of our communities,” Lau said. “They understand what’s at stake for Hawai‘i and how to work successfully with stakeholders and community partners. I am excited about the future of our companies under the leadership of Scott, Shelee and Ann. Together with Greg Hazelton and Kurt Murao, HEI’s chief financial  officer and general counsel, respectively, they will carry forward our mission to be a catalyst for  a better Hawai‘i.” 

The new leadership team combined has more than 75 years of experience with the HEI  companies.

Seu was named president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric in February 2020. Under Seu’s  leadership, the company achieved a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) of nearly 35 percent, surpassing the 2020 state goal of 30 percent. 

Hawaiian Electric continues to be a national leader in rooftop solar adoption and the use of electric vehicles, helping to reduce carbon emissions throughout the state economy. 

Seu is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and received his bachelor’s and master’s  degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. He joined Hawaiian Electric in 1993 and has held key leadership positions across the company, including in the areas of environmental management, customer programs, renewable energy development, electric system operations and community relations. He has been at the center of Hawaiian Electric’s  commitment to high performance, efficiency improvement, environmental sustainability and community service. 

“Anyone who works with Scott knows he’s committed not just to getting things done but to  finding solutions that are fair, equitable and practical,” said Tom Fargo, chairman of the board of HEI. “That’s what we’re talking about when we say we want HEI to be a catalyst for a better Hawai‘i. That’s why Scott is the person to lead the company at a time when Hawaiʻi’s energy  independence is on the horizon and there are so many opportunities to help empower our  communities.” 

Kimura, 48, joined Hawaiian Electric in 2014, and has held numerous senior leadership positions in the company, including senior vice president for customer service and public affairs and senior vice president for business development and strategy. 

She was instrumental in developing Hawaiian Electric’s 2015-2020 transformation strategy, which helped guide the leap from a traditional utility model to a transformative clean energy leader in the industry. She co-led the team that executed the transformation plan and helped set the framework for the company’s culture to become more nimble, innovative and focused on the  needs of customers. During this period, the company’s customer satisfaction improved from one  of the lowest in the industry to the top third. 

Kimura has worked to develop more constructive and equitable markets for renewable resources and more collaborative relationships with stakeholders, including those representing the environment, clean transportation, utility-scale renewables, and the rooftop solar industry. 

She has overseen an expansion of programs that helped hasten the pace of residential adoption to more than 90,000 private rooftop solar systems today and large-scale renewable resources that have more than doubled over the last five years. Most recently, she has led a  company group working with nonprofit and government agencies to address the needs of low  and moderate-income customers, especially during the pandemic. 

“Shelee is a roll-up-her-sleeves kind of leader and problem-solver who comes to the job with a  wealth of experience inside and outside the company,” said Tim Johns, chairman of the  Hawaiian Electric board of directors. “She understands the critical role the company plays in  Hawaiʻi, not just keeping the lights on, but providing leadership to tackle the challenges of  climate change in ways that are equitable and responsive to communities.” 

Before joining Hawaiian Electric, Kimura spent 10 years at HEI, leading corporate finance and  investments, investor relations and strategic planning. From 1996 to 2004, she worked in the  audit, advisory and consulting practices at Arthur Andersen and KMH LLP. 

Kimura has received numerous recognitions for her business, leadership and community  contributions, including the Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) national business  award, Hawai‘i Business Magazine’s 20 for the Next 20, and Girl Scouts Women of Distinction.  

Kimura is a graduate of Aiea High School, and holds a bachelor’s degree in business  administration from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where she was a presidential scholar.  Kimura is an Omidyar Fellow and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program of the  Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She serves on the University of Hawai‘i Outreach College Advisory Council and the audit committee of Kamehameha Schools as well  as the boards of Nā Kama Kai and Hawai‘i Institute of Public Affairs. 

Lau, 69, is retiring with a legacy that includes developing and guiding HEI’s mission to become a recognized Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) leader, and was one of the first in Hawai‘i to focus on ESG in its reporting and to outline its ESG priorities, including decarbonization and economic health and affordability of Hawaiʻi. 

Lau is a nationally recognized leader in the fields of critical infrastructure, resilience and physical and cyber security, banking and energy. Since 2012, Lau has chaired the National Infrastructure Advisory Council that advises the President of the United States on the security of the 16 critical infrastructure sectors and their information systems. 

“Connie provided steady and thoughtful leadership through a time of unprecedented change in  the energy and banking industries, but more than that, she was always asking ‘What’s next?’  and anticipating the next challenge,” Fargo said. “To have someone who leads a Hawaiʻi company nationally recognized for their expertise in such diverse fields as energy, cybersecurity and finance is really remarkable, and it’s a tribute to Connie and the team she has built.” 

Lau was named 2011 Woman of the Year by the Women’s Council on Energy and the  Environment. She was recognized as one of U.S. Banker’s 25 Most Powerful Women in  Banking for 2004, 2005 and 2006. Lau chairs the Military Affairs Council of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaiʻi and serves on the executive committees of the Edison Electric Institute  and Hawaiʻi Business Roundtable. 

She is a member of the board of directors of Matson, Inc., Associated Electrical & Gas  Insurance Services, and Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies. Lau chairs the boards of Punahou School and the Consuelo Foundation.