ST. CROIX — The governing board of the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority on Thursday announced its selection of Lawrence J. Kupfer as the next executive director and chief executive officer of the utility, effective March 1, 2018, WAPA said on Thursday.
Mr. Kupfer comes to the authority having spent more than 20 years with Hess Corporation and its affiliated companies. He is also a former president of the Virgin Islands Next Generation Network. Most recently, Mr. Kupfer was CEO of FarmPod, LLC, a Virgin Islands company providing executive leadership for startup business.
His experience with Hess Corporation includes managerial positions in both New York and the Virgin Islands including a six-year tenure as president and chief operating officer of HOVENSA, LLC on St. Croix. In that position, he provided executive leadership for the 500,000 barrel per day refinery. Early in his career, Mr. Kupfer held the position of Senior Engineer with Exxon Research & Engineering Company in both New Jersey and Italy.
Mr. Kupfer said Thursday he “looks forward to joining WAPA so he can personally thank its employees for their efforts during the recovery efforts from Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and to help lead the Authority to becoming the premier utility provider in the Caribbean.”
Interim Executive Director / CEO Clinton Hedrington, Jr. will continue to lead the authority through March 1, after which he will assume his permanent position as chief operating officer of the WAPA.
Meanwhile, former WAPA director and CEO Julio Rhymer, leaves WAPA with a $90,000 payout, and is set to join the Office of Management and Budget as director, if confirmed by the Senate.
Tags: us virgin islands, wapa
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