Parnell taps Hughes for AIDEA board

Gov. Sean Parnell appointed Wilson Hughes to the joint boards of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority and the Alaska Energy Authority July 6.

Hughes is the chief operating officer of GCI, a position he has held since 1991. Prior to that, he worked as president of Northern Air Cargo, president of the construction firm Enserch Alaska Services and the engineering firm Frank Moolin & Associates.

During the 1980s, he partnered with several multinational companies on various Alaska hydroelectric projects, including Terror Lake, Bradley Lake and early feasibility studies for a proposed Susitna project. He contributed to the Red Dog Mine port and road, utility systems in Barrow and offshore gravel islands and causeways in the Beaufort Sea.

Hughes received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri at Rolla and a master’s degree in science and engineering management from the University of Alaska. A 40-year resident of the state, he currently lives in Anchorage.

Hughes is also the past chairman of the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. and previously served eight years as chairman of the AIDEA board of directors.

—Eric Lidji