NextEra CEO earned $12.2 million in 2014
James Robo, chairman, president and CEO of NextEra Energy Inc., received a total compensation of $12.2 million in 2014, according to a proxy that the company filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
NextEra is in the process of acquiring Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. for $4.3 billion but still needs regulatory and shareholder approval. The companies had hoped to complete the deal by the end of this year. However, Randy Iwase, acting chairman of the state Public Utilities Commission, said the review process of the deal could take up to 18 months.
Robo’s total compensation was up 17.1 percent from the $10.4 million he made in 2013.
His 2014 package included a base salary of $1.2 million, $6.7 million in stock awards, $825,497 in option awards, $2.8 million in nonequity incentive plan compensation, $480,606 in change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings, and $225,057 in all other compensation.
Delta Airlines adds Seattle-Kona flight
Delta Air Lines will offer service between Seattle and Kona beginning Dec. 19 with Boeing 757-200 aircraft.
"Over the past year we’ve focused on building our Seattle hub by adding new service and investing in our products and facilities to provide a strong, differentiated option to key destinations for both our business and leisure customers," said Mike Medeiros, Delta’s vice president of Seattle. "The addition of Kona service, along with expansion in other leisure markets, ensures our customers have even more choices when it’s time to unwind."
Honda replaces CEO amid air bag crisis
TOKYO » Honda Motor Co. — hurt by falling sales and embroiled in a crisis over defective air bags — is replacing its CEO.
The Japanese automaker said Monday that Takanobu Ito, its president and chief executive officer since 2009, will step aside in June and be succeeded by longtime executive Takahiro Hachigo.
The unexpected decision follows the recalls of more 6.2 million Honda vehicles in the U.S. — and millions of others elsewhere — equipped with air bags made by Japan’s Takata Corp. The air bags have inflators that can explode, expelling shards of metal and plastic. At least six deaths and 64 injuries have been linked to the problem worldwide.
At a press conference Monday, the 61-year-old Ito said it was his own decision to step down. He has been at Honda since 1978, when he joined the company as a chassis engineer.
"I believe Honda needs to become one strong team in order to overcome challenges, and the team requires a new, youthful leadership," Ito said, according to a transcript provided by Honda. Hachigo is 55.
Google, wireless carriers take on Apple Pay
SAN FRANCISCO » Aiming to undercut Apple’s latest hit service, Google is teaming up with three major U.S. wireless carriers to prod more people into using its mobile wallet.
The counterattack announced Monday is just the latest example of how the competition between Google Inc. and Apple Inc. is extending beyond the technology industry’s traditional boundaries. Besides payments, Silicon Valley’s two richest companies are expanding into fields such as home appliances and cars to increase their power and profits.
Google’s latest volley calls for its payment service to be built into Android smartphones sold by AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA later this year.
Fed chief faces lawmakers at pivotal time
WASHINGTON » After years of sounding reassuring notes about the need to keep interest rates at record lows, the Federal Reserve is finding the shift to an era of pending rate hikes a tricky and complicated one.
But anyone who expects Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen to clarify the timetable for a rate hike when she speaks to Congress this week could be disappointed. Yellen seems likely to take a wait-and-see stance that echoes a message the Fed has sent of late: that while employment and other economic gauges have brightened, the Fed remains concerned about excessively low inflation, lingering weaknesses in the job market and troubles overseas.
ON THE MOVE
Kauai Island Utility Cooperative has announced the following promotions:
» Jim Kelly has been named Member Services and Communications manager. He has 30 years’ experience in the journalism industry, including serving as editor of Pacific Business News and managing editor of The Honolulu Advertiser.
» Maile Alfiler has been promoted to Member Services Operations manager. She joined Kauai Electric in 1990 and worked in various positions, including previously as Member Services support services supervisor, as well as having worked in areas such as information technology, accounting and member services.
Hawaiian Airlines has appointed Marc Kup to senior director of fleet transaction. He has more than 20 years of military and airline flight operations experience and joined Hawaiian in 2002, serving as a senior director of performance engineering and senior director of maintenance engineering. Prior to Hawaiian Airlines, Kup held positions in engineering and operations at Trans World Airlines, Hamburg Airlines and Lufthansa.
Andrew Bestwick has been named director of philanthropy at Wilcox Health Foundation. His responsibilities include overseeing philanthropic efforts for Wilcox Memorial Hospital. Prior to joining the foundation, Bestwick served as a senior strategic account executive for Ricoh USA and co-founded the nonprofit organization Three Feet for Pete.
