Constance H. Lau
Class of 1977
President & Chief Executive Officer, Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc.
Honolulu, HI
Ms. Lau was named president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian Electric Industries (HEI) (NYSE-HE) in May 2006. She also serves as a chairman of Hawaiian Electric Company, HEI’s utility subsidiary which provides electricity to 95% of the state of Hawaii, and chairman of American Savings Bank, HEI’s banking subsidiary and the third largest bank in Hawaii. Born and raised in Honolulu, Ms. Lau joined the HEI companies in 1984, serving first as assistant corporate counsel of Hawaiian Electric and then as an officer or director of HEI and its various subsidiaries until becoming CEO in 2006.
Ms. Lau is a nationally recognized leader in the fields of critical infrastructure, resilience and physical and cyber security, banking and energy. Ms. Lau chairs the National Infrastructure Advisory Council which advises the President of the United States on the security of the sixteen critical infrastructure sectors and their information systems and is a member of the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council which represents the industry with the federal government. Ms. Lau serves as a C3E Clean Energy Ambassador of the U.S. Department of Energy. She was named 2011 Woman of the Year by the Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment in Washington, D.C., and was also one of U.S. Banker’s 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking for 2004, 2005 and 2006 when she headed American Savings Bank. She serves on the boards of Edison Electric Institute, Associated Electrical & Gas Insurance Services, Matson, Inc. (NYSE-MATX), Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, Hawaii Business Roundtable, Punahou School, Consuelo Foundation, Elemental Excelerator and serves on the advisory boards of UC Hastings College of the Law, University of Hawaii Shidler School of Business and the John A. Burns School of Medicine, and the investment advisory committee of Kamehameha Schools.
Previous Experience
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, American Savings Bank
Chief Financial Officer, HEI Power Corp
Treasurer, Hawaiian Electric Company
Assistant Corporate Counsel, Hawaiian Electric Company
Attorney, Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe