Honolulu (October 12, 2022) – As part of Hawaiian Telcom’s continued commitment to bridge the digital divide by extending access to fiber broadband service to as many people and places in Hawai‘i as quickly as possible, the company has promoted two local leaders who are driving its fiber deployment and adoption. Jason Thune has been named Vice President of Fiber Strategy and Deployment, and Filifotu “Fotu” Vaai is now Vice President of Consumer Products & Sales.
“Jason and Fotu are exceptional leaders who are committed to Hawai‘i,” said Su Shin, President and General Manager. “Our company is fortunate to have leaders who are passionate, caring and dedicated to ensuring that Hawaiian Telcom is successful in our endeavor to expand our fiber network statewide and improve digital equity here in Hawai‘i.”
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, engineering, and IT. He was named Executive Director - Fiber Strategy and Deployment in February 2021, and will continue to manage the planning, engineering and construction of Hawaiian Telcom’s statewide fiber expansion.
A Honolulu resident and graduate of ‘Iolani School, 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. His accolades include recognition in Pacific Business News 40 Under Forty awards program (2017) and Pacific Century Fellows (class of 2016). He is a director of the Boy Scouts of America, Aloha Council.
Vaai, who has nearly 20 years of experience in the technology industry, celebrates her fifth anniversary with Hawaiian Telcom this year. She was named Executive Director – Consumer Products & Sales in May 2021, and will continue to manage Hawaiian Telcom’s consumer revenue, product pricing and sales teams. Prior to joining Hawaiian Telcom in 2017, she served as country (general) manager at BlueSky Communications, the largest wireless and TV provider in American Samoa, and as Marketing Director for Samoa’s largest telecommunications operator Bluesky Samoa (now Vodafone Samoa).
Born and raised in Samoa, Vaai earned a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration (Honors) degree in Information Systems from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, and received a graduate certificate in Telecommunications and Information Resource Management and a Master of Arts in Communications from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Vaai is a member of the Chamber of Commerce Hawai’i - Young Professionals and the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association. She resides in Ewa Beach.
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About Hawaiian Telcom
Hawaiian Telcom, established and headquartered in Honolulu since 1883, offers a full range of services to business and residential customers including Internet, video, voice, data network solutions and security, colocation, and managed and cloud services - all supported by the reach and reliability of its next generation fiber network and 24/7 state-of-the-art network operations center. With employees statewide sharing a commitment to innovation and a passion for delivering superior service, Hawaiian Telcom is proud to be Hawaiʻi’s Technology Leader. For more information, visit hawaiiantel.com.
Contact
Ann Nishida Fry
(808) 285-9289
Ann.nishida@hawaiiantel.com