LUMA appoints former public servants to top managerial posts
By The Star Staff
LUMA Energy, the private operator of Puerto Rico’s electric power transmission and distribution system, announced Monday the appointment of three new members to its top management team, including former National Guard Adjt. Gen. José Reyes as chief corporate services officer.
The new executives have decades of professional experience in the industry and in public service. They will join the company four months after Juan Saca was named LUMA’s chief executive officer on July 1.
“Since my first day at LUMA, my goal has been to attract and promote the best,” Saca said. “This includes identifying local and trained talent to join the more than 4,000 colleagues on our team at LUMA, who are building a better energy future for Puerto Rico.”
Besides Reyes, LUMA hired former Justice Secretary Ángel Rotger-Sabat as chief legal officer. Former Insurance Commissioner Mariano Mier was promoted to chief compliance officer, a new executive position to ensure ongoing accountability and compliance with applicable laws and regulations, as well as codes of ethics and internal policies.
Each will help ensure that LUMA follows the highest ethical, legal, regulatory and internal standards, the company said, adding that they will also bring their experience and expertise to a diverse management team.
“Some of the most significant achievements we have made at LUMA during our first two years of operations are the following: We reduced the frequency of outages by 35% in the first two years of operations, accelerated the clean energy transformation by connecting more than 71,000 customers with solar panels, and initiated 411 FEMA-funded projects, which represents $11.7 billion,” LUMA said.
“At LUMA, we are excited about the energy future we are building for Puerto Rico,” Saca added.
Reyes was most recently the 22nd adjutant general of the Puerto Rico National Guard. He was also the principal adviser to the governor of Puerto Rico for all matters related to preparation and enlistment in the armed forces. In 1984, he began his military career as an active soldier in the United States Army. Before occupying the position of adjutant general and major general (retired), Reyes was a dual troop commander in 2017 after hurricanes Irma and Maria. Additionally, he was responsible for leading more than 16,000 members of all branches of the military in providing defense support to civil authorities. The major general has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.
Rotger-Sabat has over 30 years of professional experience in private practice as a trial lawyer and partner in several recognized law firms in Puerto Rico. He also has experience in public service, having served as secretary of justice. He also worked in the public sector as a legal officer for Ramón Negrón Soto, an administrative judge of the Court of Appeals of Puerto Rico, and as deputy secretary of justice. Rotger-Sabat holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Brown University and a J.D. from Brown University and from the UPR School of Law, where he graduated cum laude. Additionally, he is a member of the American Bar Association; Federal Bar Association, Puerto Rico Chapter; and the Bar Association of the District of Columbia.
Jorge Flores de Jesús, the current vice president of legal affairs and general counsel at LUMA, has decided to return to private practice soon.
Mier, meanwhile, has 24 years of experience in litigation and corporate and administrative practice and has been vice president of the Procurement and Contracts Department at LUMA since February 2022. Before joining LUMA, Mier was Puerto Rico’s insurance commissioner. As part of his role, he supervised and regulated all facets of the insurance industry in Puerto Rico. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mier worked as a journalist specializing in government and business news at El Nuevo Día. He also worked in the financial services industry and in academia. Additionally, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Colby College and studied mathematics at the graduate level. He obtained his law degree from UPR.