Shelee Kimura

President & CEO, Hawaiian Electric

Ambassador · 2016 Business Award Winner

Shelee Kimura was named President & Chief Executive Officer of Hawaiian Electric in January 2022, having previously served as Senior Vice President of Customer Service & Public Affairs and Senior Vice President of Business Development & Strategic Planning. She provided leadership for the company’s customer care initiatives through the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn, making equity and access a top priority while improving customer satisfaction and stakeholder engagement. Kimura oversaw the company’s strategic planning; business development; renewable acquisition; electrification of transportation, products, and services; and demand response. She led the development of Hawaiian Electric’s 2015-2020 Strategic Transformation Plan and co-led the Transformation Office responsible for execution. She strengthened and grew the Hawai‘i market for affordable, clean energy resources and launched the electric transportation division, which will play a critical role to help decarbonize Hawai‘i’s economy.

Before joining Hawaiian Electric, Kimura led Investor Relations and Strategic Planning at Hawaiian Electric Industries (HEI), the parent company of Hawaiian Electric and one of the largest publicly traded companies in Hawai‘i. She previously worked as HEI’s Director of Corporate Finance and Investments and prior to that was a Consulting Manager at Arthur Andersen and its successor firm in Honolulu, KMH LLP. 

Kimura is an Omidyar Fellow and serves on the board of Nā Kama Kai. She has received several honors, including the American Lung Association Outstanding Mother Award in 2022, Girl Scouts of Hawai‘i Women of Distinction in 2020, Hawaii Business’ 20 for the Next 20 in 2018, and the C3E Business Award in 2016. Kimura holds a BBA degree from the University of Hawai’I at Mānoa, where she was a UH Board of Regents Presidential Scholar, and she is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.