HONOLULU — Mayor Rick Blangiardi has appointed former Williams Sale Partnership USA executive Gene Albano to serve as the new director and chief engineer of the Honolulu Department of Facility Management.

What You Need To Know

  • Gene Albano started with WSP, an international engineering and design firm, as a senior electrical engineer in 2006 and later served as president of WSP Hawaii for five years

  • DFM is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of city roads, bridges, traffic signs, streetlights, streams and public buildings; the department also maintains the automotive, heavy vehicle and construction equipment fleets of most city departments and agencies

  • Albano succeeds Dawn Szewczyk, who resigned in April

  • At WSP USA, Albano was involved in numerous city and county projects, including Kakaako infrastructure redevelopment, the Honolulu Fire Department’s South Street headquarters (as well as fire stations in McCully and East Kapolei), DFM’s Halawa base yard and the Department of Transportation Services’ TheBus facility in Pearl City

“This is an absolutely critical job in the day-to-day of city operations, and Gene’s track record of leadership and providing quality engineering services over the course of his career give us great confidence for the department’s future,” Blangiardi said in a statement released on Wednesday. “Gene has distinguished himself as both a community and industry leader, and we are confident that we have found the right leader at the right time for this important role.”

Albano started with WSP, an international engineering and design firm, as a senior electrical engineer in 2006 and later served as president of WSP Hawaii for five years. Prior to joining WSP, Albano was a senior electrical engineer at Nakamura, Oyama and Associates Inc. for almost 15 years.

“I hope to utilize my experience from both a local small business and global corporate perspective to offer an executive, technical, progressive, positive, and forward-thinking mindset toward achieving the city’s and Mayor Blangiardi’s missions and goals,” Albano said in a statement released on Friday.

DFM is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of city roads, bridges, traffic signs, streetlights, streams and public buildings. The department also maintains the automotive, heavy vehicle and construction equipment fleets of most city departments and agencies. At DFM, Albano will oversee a staff of about 300 people.

Albano’s first day is scheduled for Monday, July 10. He succeeds Dawn Szewczyk, who resigned in April.

His appointment is subject to confirmation by the Honolulu City Council.

At WSP USA, Albano was involved in numerous city and county projects, including Kakaako infrastructure redevelopment, the Honolulu Fire Department’s South Street headquarters (as well as fire stations in McCully and East Kapolei), DFM’s Halawa base yard and the Department of Transportation Services’ TheBus facility in Pearl City.

A graduate of Moanalua High School graduate, Albano holds a BS in electrical engineering from California State University Long Beach.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.