Meeting/Event Information

As Hawaii’s workforce evolves, effective succession planning is more critical than ever. Organizations across all sectors are facing leadership gaps due to retirements, talent shortages, and shifting workplace expectations. 

Moderated by Marie Kumabe, CEO of Kumabe HR, this session brings together leaders from state government, unions, banking, corporate, and nonprofit sectors to share practical strategies and real-world insights.

You’ll learn how to:

• Identify the key elements of a sustainable succession plan

• Navigate sector-specific challenges and solutions

• Understand HR, leadership, and governance roles in succession

• Apply panel insights to improve your own strategy

Don’t miss this chance to learn how to future-proof your leadership pipeline.

Meet Your Speakers!

Lynn Araki-Regan is a licensed attorney and currently serves as the Administrative Services Officer II for the State of Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. She previously held leadership roles as the State Tax Collector and First Deputy (Deputy Director for Administration) at the Department of Transportation. Lynn is a graduate of the Pacific Century Fellows Program (2004) and has been recognized as Pacific Business News’ 2007 Woman Community Leader of the Year and one of Hawaii Business Magazine’s “20 for the Next 20” in 2012.

Manu Bermudes is Vice President of Human Resources at Hawai'i Gas, bringing over 30 years of HR leadership across the energy, construction, manufacturing, aerospace, and nonprofit sectors. She oversees enterprise-wide HR strategy with a strong focus on organizational development, inclusive leadership, and succession planning—particularly within complex, unionized environments.

Cassie Nii is the Senior Manager of Learning and Development at the Gates Foundation, where she specializes in leadership development, instructional design, and strategic talent planning. Previously, she led succession planning and leadership initiatives at Hawaiian Telcom and the Tradewind Group. Now based in Seattle, Cassie is passionate about building future-ready teams through practical, people-centered learning solutions, with a strong focus on manager and leadership development.

Ed Hudson brings over 40 years of human resources leadership experience, with a career that spans Silicon Valley’s global tech sector and Hawaii’s financial services industry. Now a consultant, he supports local organizations in addressing Hawaii’s evolving talent challenges through strategic, experience-driven guidance.