KIUC CEO resigns for medical reasons

LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative President and CEO Randall Hee submitted his resignation Wednesday to the Board of Directors, KIUC spokesperson Anne Barnes said.

The KIUC board has appointed David Bissell to serve as interim CEO effective immediately. Bissell has served as KIUC’s chief financial officer since July 2006 and acting CEO since June 2010.

“With regret, the Board has accepted Randy’s resignation, and we thank him for his strong leadership and many years of service to KIUC and its predecessor, Kaua‘i Electric,” KIUC Board Chair Teofilio “Phil” Tacbian said in a statement.

Since July 2010, Hee has been battling back from knee replacement surgery and unable to work. He advised the board that he believes the rehabilitation of the knee needs to be his first priority and that the leadership team at KIUC has performed admirably in his absence, a news release states.

The former McBryde Sugar mechanical engineer got his start working with the plantation’s Wainiha hydroelectric plant and the sugar mill’s biomass generators, the release states.

After completing time with KIUC predecessors Kaua‘i Electric and Kaua‘i Power Partners working as the operations superintendent at the Port Allen generation facility and helping establish the KPP facility, Hee was elected to the KIUC board in 2003.

When the board finalized the purchase of KPP (now Kapaia Power Station), he stepped down and completed his Master’s of Business Administration at the University of Hawai‘i. In February 2007 Hee became president and CEO of KIUC after tenures as a manager of safety and chief of operations.

“Randy Hee was a dedicated leader in the process of building the cooperative, and has demonstrated dedication to the people of Kaua‘i and leadership throughout his career,” Tacbian said.