Chugach Electric Names Hal Halpern as New Chief Executive
EDITOR’S NOTE: On April 4, the Chugach Electric board of directors decided not to go forward with hiring Hal Halpern as CEO. The board has not announced its plans to find a new CEO to replace Lee Thibert, who is set to retire at the end of the month.
A utility executive from Minnesota is taking over at Chugach Electric Association.
Hal Halpern was named CEO, effective April 11, 2022. Halpern comes to Chugach from Cooperative Light & Power in northeastern Minnesota, where he served as CEO for more than three years. Halpern joins Chugach upon the retirement of Lee Thibert, who served six years as CEO.
Halpern’s experience includes working as an application engineer at Photodyne, where he helped develop the world’s first fiber optic power meter and the world’s first high resolution OTDR (optical radar). The company was then acquired by 3M.
As vice president for Laser Precision, Halpern’s team developed new products for the utilities industry, and as CEO of Lightguide Communications, Halpern’s team was responsible for more than one million electric, fiber-optic and broadband new builds and upgrades. Halpern has also been CEO of Fiber-Span, where he oversaw the use of wireless (radio frequency) over fiber optic technology.
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May 2025
“Hal’s expert knowledge of complextechnologies and his innovative spirit is sure to greatly benefit Chugach, our members, and the community at large,” says Rachel Morse, Chugach board chair. “His experience meeting the unique needs of a cooperative to provide reliable, affordable, safe and sustainable power to communities makes him the ideal leader to serve our more than 90,000 members in Alaska.”
In his new role, Halpern oversees development of Chugach’s utility strategies and business growth. He plans to relocate from Two Harbors, Minnesota to Anchorage.
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