Hawaiian Telcom lands new president
HawTel nabs new leader from HECO
STORY SUMMARY »
Troubled Hawaiian Telcom, the state's largest communications company, selected a top executive from another state utility yesterday to take over as president and chief executive.
Eric Yeaman, senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hawaiian Electric Co., will take over in mid-June for turnaround specialist Stephen Cooper. Cooper replaced Michael Ruley, who was fired in February.
Hawaiian Telcom also named Walter Dods, a board member and investor, as nonexecutive chairman. Dods plans to step down as nonexecutive chairman of First Hawaiian Bank at the end of this year.
FULL STORY »
Hawaiian Telcom, hoping to restore confidence in its troubled communications business, turned yesterday to a top executive of another state utility to take over as president and chief executive.
Eric Yeaman, senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hawaiian Electric Co., was selected to replace turnaround specialist Stephen Cooper, who has been serving as interim CEO since Feb. 4 when he replaced the fired Michael Ruley.
Eric Yeaman
A look at the incoming president, chief executive and board member of Hawaiian Telcom, starting mid-June:
» Age: 40
» Present job: Senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hawaiian Electric Co.
» Former jobs: Chief financial officer of Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc.; chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Kamehameha Schools; various positions at Arthur Andersen LLP in Honolulu
» Directorships: Bishop Holdings Corp., Kamehameha Investment Corp. and Pauahi Management Corp., all wholly owned subsidiaries of Kamehameha Schools; Queen's Health Systems; Hawaii Community Foundation; the Nature Conservancy of Hawaii; Hawaii Pacific University
|
"I think the immediate focus is to build the trust of our employees and our customers," said the 40-year-old Yeaman, who plans to start in mid-June after "working through an orderly transition" at HECO. "Customers are why we're in business, and that will be a top priority and focus."
Walter Dods, a Hawaiian Telcom investor and a board member since May 2005, was named nonexecutive chairman, replacing Daniel Akerson. Dods, who retired as CEO of First Hawaiian at the end of 2004, said he was stepping down as nonexecutive chairman of the bank at the end of this year, capping a 40-year association with First Hawaiian.
Hawaiian Telcom, which reports its first-quarter earnings on Thursday, has faced several challenges since being acquired for $1.6 billion in May 2005 by the Washington, D.C.-based Carlyle Group. Among the hurdles have been problems with the transferring of billing, order processing and customer service operations from the mainland to Hawaii. It has not only been losing land-line subscribers as more people switch to cellular phones, but also losing subscribers to its high-speed Internet service. The company has downsized by cutting more than 100 positions since early 2007.
Yeaman, who said he wants to look forward and not dwell on the past, has not "jumped in the saddle yet to look at what all the issues are," but acknowledged that there were billing problems.
"What I understand is that they've made a significant amount of progress, and there's some room to grow," he said. "Looking beyond that, we want to look at the needs of our customers and making sure we deliver what's important to them. There will be a lot of new products and services."
Dods, who said he will making $1 a year as chairman, is stepping up his involvement with Hawaiian Telcom because he has been upset at what has transpired in the past few weeks with the shutdown of Aloha Airlines -- which had a credit-card partnership with First Hawaiian -- and other companies in the community.
"It's been upsetting to me and unsettling many people in the community," Dods said. "So when the Carlyle people asked me if I could take a more active role in the company, after initially declining I decided I could make a contribution. So I'm doing it for the gigantic sum of $1 a year because I believe the institution is important to Hawaii and is the backbone of Hawaii's communication structure."
Joel Matsunaga, Hawaiian Telcom's vice president of external affairs, said the company's financial stability is not in question.
"We made some larger repayments of debt recently, and we have adequate liquidity," said Matsunaga, a 29-year veteran of the company and its predecessors.
Dods said he recruited Yeaman for the CEO post because of his background, which includes the chief financial officer position at HECO parent Hawaiian Electric Industries and his involvement with Kamehameha Schools, where he was chief operating officer and CFO.
"I watched him over the years, and he's a very old 40 and he's accomplished a lot," Dods said. "He's a special human being, and I take great pride in finding special people and helping them a little bit to get to the top."
In other moves, Robert Reich was appointed CFO after serving in an interim capacity since March 7, and Alan Oshima was named senior adviser to the company and a member of the board after previously serving as senior vice president and general counsel. Yeaman also will serve on the board.
