Sharon Suzuki got her start at Maui Electric as an analyst before moving into the customer service area and advancing through the organization as a director, customer service manager, renewable energy services manager and now president. Suzuki also holds leadership positions with the Maui Economic Development Board, Girl Scouts of Hawaii, Boy Scouts of America Maui County Council, the American Red Cross Maui Advisory Council, the Maui Hotel & Lodging Association and the Maui County Civil Service Commission.
What she’s been up to since taking the reins at Maui Electric:
Pursuing greater penetration of renewable energy by changing how we operate our existing generation. We’ve been negotiating new purchase power agreements with third parties and looking at ways to ensure reliable service for all of our customers, giving them choices as well as keeping our costs affordable. We’re also going out into the community and talking to our customers about how we can help them prepare for storms during hurricane season, for example, or explaining what we do to restore power when there’s an outage. Making ourselves available to the public by going to community meetings and hosting our own small group sessions about using electricity efficiently has worked well for us.
Most valuable lesson she’s learned:
The power of delegation. Great things can happen when you surround yourself with talented people and allow them to get things done their way.
Hurtles she’s navigated:
Listening to the voice of the community. We’ve learned to educate our customers about the different resources that are available and to get their feedback on our long-range energy plans as opposed to saying, “Hey, we have a plan and this is what it is.” Listening to our customers’ voices upfront and adjusting our plans moving forward is a better way.
Maui Electric serves Maui, Lana‘i and Molokai, and each island really has its own culture, so it’s important that we’re sensitive to the needs of the people who live on the different islands. Trying to meet the needs of our employees as well as the community has its challenges, but I have a pretty diverse professional background, so I think that gives me the ability to adjust and work with that diversity.
Favorite quality in a team member.
Someone who takes initiative.
Describe yourself in three words.
Open-minded, persistent, collaborative
What could professionals be doing more of to work their way up the ladder the way you did?
Working hard, building relationships across different parts of the organization and, of course, taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. It could even be a lateral move—just having a different perspective helps to broaden your thinking and prepare you for a higher-level position.
