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ASTCA board selects Emmsley as new CEO

American Samoa TeleCommunications board of directors has selected Moefa’auo M. L. William ‘Bill’ Emmsley Jr., as the new chief executive officer of the government owned entity and his contract was signed yesterday in front of the board and two news reporters.

 

The contract signing event was held on the 4th floor of ASTCA’s new executive building in Tafuna. Board chairman Roy J.D. Hall Jr., said six people submitted applications for the CEO advertised position, and all of them were local individuals.

 

From the six, four applicants were interviewed before it was narrowed down to Moefa’auo and one other applicant, whose name could not be  revealed by Hall.

 

After full discussions by members of the board, Hall said Moefa’auo was selected as the new CEO, and he will replace long time ASTCA boss Aleki Sene Sr.

 

Sene, who has been with ASTCA for 42 years, will be involved in the transition period according to Hall. Sene began when the entity was still called the Office of Communication but in 1996, it was established by executive order as ASTCA.

 

Hall says Sene, whose contract ends May 1, will work with Moefa’auo during the transition period. Sene was present during yesterday’s signing event.

 

“We look forward to seeing great things from you, Bill and don’t forget you have a legacy to follow. So you will be judged by that standard,” Hall told the new CEO.

 

Moefa’auo during his brief remarks acknowledged Sene’s many years of service to the Authority. He said Sene’s service has “brought American Samoa into the world of telecommunication in levels that we could not have imagined.”

 

“His impeccable service is certainly hard to follow and shoes big enough I cannot even fit in them,” said Moefa’auo. “But I can rest assure, that I will do my best, in all God’s given ability to try and make this organization as profitable, as competitive as we possibly can, to ensure that the services that we do extend to our community, will likewise be done in the most efficient and effective way.”

 

As for the appointment as CEO, he said “I will not take it lightly. This is not an easy task to fulfill, but I will pray every night, work hard as I can to ensure that services that we have established and the legacy that Mr. Sene has brought forward to this organization... will move on to the next level.”

 

Responding to media questions, Hall said Moefa’auo’s contract is as long as possible and that the salary is “fair and reasonable”.

 

Asked as to what mandates the board has given the new CEO, Hall said “we are going to let him set his priorities” and the board will establish the mandates after seeing his priorities, which are to be provided to the board over the next 12 months.

 

Moefa’auo has resigned his post from the American Samoa Community College where he was the first dean Dean of Institute of Trades and Technology (ITT). He is a former CEO of the Honolulu-based Samoan Service Providers Association, a non profit corporation. 

 

He had served as the first deputy director for the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources during the first term of the Lutali Administration; is a former ASTCA technical electronic engineer in the 1980s and was a U.S. Naval marine engineer.

 

He earned an electronic engineering degree from the Honolulu Community College on microwave and digital technologies; holds an undergraduate degree in public policy and international relations from the University of Hawai’i and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree, emphasis on organization and development and macro-economics from Hawai’i Pacific University, according to his bio provided to the media.