Meet the Speaker: Frank Chan, Enterprise Program Manager, Hawaiian Electric Company

Meet Frank Chan, Enterprise Program Manager for Hawaiian Electric. Learn how his parents and grandparents taught him hard work and integrity and how his primary goal is to help his kids reach their potential.

Meet him in person at the Process Excellence for Utilities Conference, September 19-20, 2018 in Palm Springs, CA, where he will discuss transforming three operating companies into one and how it was a herculean task to merge entities, cultures, and adopt one best practice methodology to move forward.

Question: Name, title, company?
Frank Chan, Enterprise Program Manager, Hawaiian Electric Company

Question: Family, hometown, where you live?
Born and raised in Chicago. Moved to warm and beautiful Hawaii 12 years ago with my better half to raise our now 8 year-old daughter and 10 year-old son.

Question: What is your utility/process excellence experience?
I have 6 years of experience in the utility industry. I have 16 years of experience in learning, training, applying continuous improvement into the many multi-disciplinary roles over that period.

Question: What do you like to do when you’re not working? Hobbies?
Games and outdoor activities with the kids like hiking, swimming, snorkeling, basketball.

Question: Notable achievements?
Project Manager of the Year and EPA Innovation Award.

Question: Where do you see Continuous Improvement/Process Excellence in utilities in two years?
I see it as a developing capability in organizations to improve capacity and adapt to the industry challenges like increasing renewable energy and improving customer satisfaction.

Question: What is your biggest challenge?
Balancing priorities while maintaining excellence.

Question: What did you do prior to working in your current role?
Project Manager of Smart Grid Planning and Implementation.

Question: Who are a couple of your role models (and why)?
Parents and Grandparents for teaching me integrity, hard work, responsibility and caring.

Question: What is one of your biggest goals (in life or business)?
Helping my kids reach their full potential. Business BHAG: To become a leadership expert and a highly sought after speaker.

Question: What’s the biggest misconception you run into in your role (or what people seem to think about Process Excellence)?
The biggest misconception is that Process Excellence can solve everything and always leads to cost savings or benefits quickly. Definitely, not always the case.