In an effort to find out how Hawaii's business leaders achieve success, Pacific Business News is asking local professionals to share just one tip or one "secret" that's helped them the most in their career.
Jeff Kaemmerlen, CEO of Sunspear Energy, told PBN:
"Be OK with saying, 'I don’t know.' That’s scary for a leader, but it gives opportunity for me to learn from my team. I knew nothing about solar when I started. I got into it by doing sales and learned about solar by just doing."
He added, "It’s important to give people the opportunity to figure things out for themselves if they want to grow into future leaders. Saying ‘I don’t know’ allows you to problem solve and learn more — evolving your company and leadership style.”
Kaemmerlen co-founded Sunspear Energy in 2017. Prior to that, he worked in different roles — including as the director of sales — for Sunetric, and as a staff accountant at the Trump International Hotel Waikiki. He is focused on renewable energy solutions for homeowners, commercial businesses, nonprofit organizations, and public sector entities, according to a spokesperson for Sunspear.
Sunspear Energy has completed over 75MW of solar installations to date, including at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, Wet‘n’Wild Hawaii, Capitol Place, MINI of Kapolei, Big Island Grown Warehouse, University of Hawaii Community College campuses, and more, according to the company.
This is part of an ongoing web series called Secrets to Success. Know someone we should talk to? Email Reporter Sophia Compton at scompton@bizjournals.com.
