Our Board

Our Board comprises uncompensated volunteer experts

President:

Leo Caires

Mr. Caires, the president of the KKEC, a leader who embodies a profound commitment to the community they serve, understanding that an electric co-op's mission extends far beyond simply delivering power. 

He has served in a wide range of leadership and finance experiences. He served as a Board of Director of Hawaii USA FCC, which is the largest credit union in Hawaii with over 2 Billion in assets. He has served in commercial finance for the Federal Small Business Administration and as a Commercial Banker at First Hawaiian Bank. He brings over 20 years of experience in energy development in Hawaii where he focused on strategic development and partnerships successfully developing wind, solar, off-grid and storage projects for private and government customers. As an entrepreneur, he has owned and operated his agriculture manufacturing company since 2004.  

He is a paniolo from Maui and roots in Hawaii back into the 1800’s. He serves as a member for a youth rodeo association. He is very much involved over the years in youth sports as a coach, mentor and speaker.  He also supports his local 4-H programs, his church. He is a former Division IA linebacker. He has an undergraduate degree in animal science. He has an MBA and a Doctorate Degree focusing on business and financial literacy in Hawaii. He lives in Kula with his wife and 4 children on their family farm estate.


Secretary:

Jennifer Potter

Jennifer Potter is a resident of the Maui, Hawaii with over 18 years of experience in the US energy industry. She works as a Faculty Energy Specialist at the Hawaii Natural Research Institute at the University of Hawaii, where her research focuses on microgrids and energy policy. Previously, Jennie served as a Commissioner with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission for five years, where she implemented innovative regulatory frameworks, including performance-based regulations and performance incentives for energy providers.

Before her current role, Jennie was a Senior Director of Regulatory Innovation at Strategen Consulting, providing research and solutions on regulatory innovation, resilience strategies, virtual power plants, and distributed energy resource program development.

At Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Jennie led the nationally recognized California Demand Response Potential Study. She has authored numerous papers on demand response, energy efficiency, advanced electricity rates, and resiliency, and has presented her research nationally and internationally.

With ten years of experience working for electric utilities, Jennie has led energy and revenue forecasting, experimental pilots, and managed large utility customer projects, including an advanced rates pilot with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District that influenced advanced rate implementations in California and Hawaii.

Jennie is a nationally recognized thought leader in the energy industry. She received the Grid Innovator of the Year award from Grid Forward in 2022 and the Thought Leadership award from the Peak Load Management Alliance in 2018.

Jennie holds a Master of Science in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Economics.

Chairman:

Doug McLeod

Doug McLeod has worked on energy and environmental issues for thirty five years. He holds degrees from the Johns Hopkins University and the Kansas University School of Law.

As an attorney he practiced law with the firm now known as Husch Blackwell and was a partner at the firm.  He also confounded a boutique law firm. 

As a government official he served as the Energy Commissioner for Maui, Molokai, and Lanai.  

As a private developer he built the first Feed In Tariff pv system in Hawai'i and operates pv systems on Oahu and Maui.

In business, Doug has founded or co-founded several companies including DKK Properties, LLC operating on Maui since 2003.

He has experience with cooperatives having served as the President of an 800 acre dairy farm in Kansas which operated as part of a Cooperative.

Doug is a founder of the Hawai'i Energy Conference and previously served on the Board of Directors for Ka Ipu Kukui and Maui Tomorrow.

Board Member:

Mark Kolesar

Mark Kolesar, MBA (University of Ottawa) is a researcher, author, and consultant in utility regulation and policy development, and a frequent participant in webinars and conferences in Canada and the U.S.

With over thirty years of experience in the regulated utilities sector, Mark has worked in the areas of regulation and public policy, external relations, marketing, strategy, business development, and mergers and acquisitions. He was a member of the Alberta Utilities Commission for twelve years, including six years as Vice Chair and two years as Chair. Prior to joining the AUC, Mark was Vice President, Economic Affairs at TELUS Corporation. Mark is now managing principal at Kolesar Buchanan & Associates Ltd., where he advises on incentive regulation, rate design, facilities applications, regulatory strategy, integration of distributed energy resources into the grid, energy transitions, utility business models, and regulatory renewal, among other matters.

Mark taught for over twenty years at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary as sessional faculty. His principal teaching areas were Strategy Development and Implementation, and Business Planning.

Mark has an Honors Degree in Philosophy and an MBA in Managerial Economics and Finance. Mark and his wife Diane have lived part-time on Maui since 2010