Our People

Su Shin, President

Su Shin was named President and General Manager of Hawaiian Telcom in February 2020. The first female president in the company’s more than 136-year history, she is responsible for the overall leadership and management of Hawaiian Telcom’s operations and corporate staff.

She is passionate about advancing Hawaiian Telcom’s mission to connect and empower our Hawai‘i, bridging the digital divide, and bringing the best in high-speed internet service to more homes and businesses. Under her leadership, Hawaiian Telcom has expanded fiber internet service to more than half of the state including the entire island of Lāna‘i and the vast majority of Moloka‘i.

Ms. Shin previously served as Chief of Staff, providing strategic counsel to company leaders and directing key projects and initiatives. Prior to joining Hawaiian Telcom as Director – Corporate Communications in 2013, she served as Senior Vice President at Bennet Group. She graduated from McKinley High School before receiving her bachelor’s degree from the University of La Verne in California.

Ms. Shin is committed to giving back to the community, serving on the Boards of the Aloha United Way, Bell Charitable Foundation, the Blood Bank of Hawaii and the McKinley High School Foundation.

Rob Messmer, Vice President – Business Sales

Rob Messmer is the Vice President of Business Sales for Hawaiian Telcom. In this role, he is responsible for leading the company’s Enterprise, Government, Commercial and Sales Engineering teams.

Mr. Messmer joined Hawaiian Telcom in 2026. Prior to joining Hawaiian Telcom, he served as Sales Vice President & Channel Chief at CBTS, where he led the indirect sales channel for more than nine years.

He brings more than 25 years of business-to-business sales and marketing experience across a broad range of technology industries.

Mr. Messmer earned a bachelor’s degree from Miami University, where he double majored in finance and marketing.

Jason Thune, Vice President – Fiber Strategy and Deployment

Mr. Thune began his career at Hawaiian Telcom as a summer intern in 1998. Over his nearly 25-year career with the company, he has held key leadership roles in different areas, including customer operations, network operations, network planning and IT. Prior to being promoted to vice president in August 2022, he served as Executive Director - Fiber Strategy and Deployment.

To help bring fiber broadband to some of Hawai‘i’s most rural areas, primarily on the neighbor islands, Mr. Thune spearheaded projects to pursue federal grants from the Connect America Fund Phase II, Connect America Fund Phase II Auction and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. His efforts led to Hawaiian Telcom securing $68.5 million to enable 23,000 locations in rural areas with fiber broadband.

Mr. Thune earned a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – College of Business, and an MBA from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa - Shidler College of Business.

He was recognized as one of the 40 Under Forty by Pacific Business News in 2017 and he is a member of the Pacific Century Fellows class of 2016.

Mr. Thune serves on the board of the Aloha Council, Boy Scouts of America.

Ngoc Nguyen, Vice President - Finance

Ngoc Nguyen is Vice President - Finance for Hawaiian Telcom. In this role, Ms. Nguyen leads the company’s financial planning, forecasting, performance management, and strategic financial decision-making.

Ms. Nguyen joined Hawaiian Telcom in 2006 and has held a series of leadership positions within the Finance organization, including roles in Operational Finance, Strategic Finance, and Investor Relations.

Born and raised in Hanoi, Vietnam, Ms. Nguyen graduated from Nanakuli High & Intermediate before earning her bachelor’s degree in Finance and an MBA from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa – Shidler College of Business.

She currently serves on the Board of Make Lemonade Project as Treasurer and was selected for the 7th cohort of the Patsy T. Mink Leadership Alliance.

Chris Raker, Vice President – Consumer Sales

Chris Raker is Vice President of Consumer Sales for Hawaiian Telcom. In this role, he leads the company's consumer sales strategy across Hawai’i, overseeing customer acquisition, sales performance, and channel development across direct, retail, partner, and digital sales channels. He most recently served as Director of Consumer Sales before assuming his current position.

Mr. Raker joined Hawaiian Telcom in 2021. Prior to joining the company, he held sales leadership positions at Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable.

Born and raised in Hawai’i, Mr. Raker is passionate about expanding access to reliable, high-speed fiber internet and helping bridge the digital divide so local communities have the connectivity needed to learn, work, and thrive.