HONOLULU, May 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Hawaiian
Electric Company, Inc. (Hawaiian Electric), a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (HEI) (NYSE:
HE), today announced that President and CEO Richard M. Rosenblum has notified the company
that he plans to retire within a year. Rosenblum, who turned
64 last month, has served as Hawaiian Electric's President and CEO
and as a member of the company's board of directors since
2009. He joined Hawaiian Electric after a 32-year career at
Southern California Edison.
"In 2008, I made the decision to come out of retirement for the
challenge of leading an organization embarking on an unprecedented
slate of clean energy initiatives," said Rosenblum. "Today,
thanks to collaborative efforts with many partners, our utilities
are meeting more than 18 percent of our customers' energy
needs with renewable energy, compared to just 8 percent in
2008. We lead the nation in rooftop solar photovoltaic
systems per customer, and we're broadly recognized as an industry
leader in the integration of renewable energy.
"While I've shared my future retirement intentions to allow
ample time for a smooth transition, I'm committed to completing the
development of our plans for the next phase of our clean energy
transformation," added Rosenblum.
"We've been fortunate to benefit from Dick's exceptional
knowledge and operational expertise. His passionate focus on
improving customer service and reliability, instilling a pervasive
culture of safety for our employees and our customers, reducing our
dependence on expensive imported oil, and building our talent and
management strength has laid a solid foundation for our utilities,"
said Constance H. Lau, chairman of
Hawaiian Electric's board of directors and CEO of parent company,
HEI.
"To help with the transition, I am working with Dick and his
team on the ongoing energy planning process as well as the future
leadership transition. We'll ensure we continue to have strong
leadership to aggressively move Hawaii toward a clean energy future," Lau
added.
HEI supplies power to approximately 450,000 customers or 95% of
Hawaii's population through its
electric utilities, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., Hawaii
Electric Light Company, Inc. and Maui Electric Company, Limited and
provides a wide array of banking and other financial services to
consumers and businesses through American Savings Bank (American),
one of Hawaii's largest financial
institutions.
HEI and Hawaiian Electric intend to continue to use HEI's
website, www.hei.com, as a means of disclosing additional
information. Such disclosures will be included on HEI's
website in the Investor Relations section. Accordingly,
investors should routinely monitor such portions of HEI's website,
in addition to following HEI's, Hawaiian Electric's and American's
press releases, HEI's and Hawaiian Electric's SEC filings and HEI's
public conference calls and webcasts. Also, at the Investor
Relations section of HEI's website, investors may sign up to
receive e-mail alerts (based on each investor's selected
preferences). The information on HEI's website is not
incorporated by reference in this document or in HEI's and Hawaiian
Electric's SEC filings unless, and except to the extent,
specifically incorporated by reference. Investors may also
wish to refer to the Public Utilities Commission of the
State of Hawaii (PUC) website at
dms.puc.hawaii.gov/dms in order to review documents filed with and
issued by the PUC. No information on the PUC website is
incorporated by reference in this document or in HEI's and Hawaiian
Electric's SEC filings.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This release may contain
"forward-looking statements," which include statements that are
predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or
conditions, and usually include words such as "expects,"
"anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "predicts,"
"estimates" or similar expressions. In addition, any
statements concerning future financial performance, ongoing
business strategies or prospects or possible future actions are
also forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
are based on current expectations and projections about future
events and are subject to risks, uncertainties and the accuracy of
assumptions concerning HEI and its subsidiaries, the performance of
the industries in which they do business and economic and market
factors, among other things. These forward-looking statements
are not guarantees of future performance.
Forward-looking statements in this release should be read in
conjunction with the "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk
Factors" discussions (which are incorporated by reference herein)
set forth in HEI's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended March 31, 2014 and annual
report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, respectively, and HEI's future
periodic reports that discuss important factors that could cause
HEI's results to differ materially from those anticipated in such
statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of
the date of the report, presentation or filing in which they are
made. Except to the extent required by the federal securities
laws, HEI, Hawaiian Electric, American and their subsidiaries
undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
Media Contact:
Lynne T. Unemori (808) 543-7972
lynne.unemori@hawaiianelectric.com
Investor Contact:
Carol E. O. Imai (808) 543-7920
cimai@hei.com
Logo -
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110411/LA80136LOGO
SOURCE Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc.