THE Senate Committee on Executive Appointments and Government Investigations on Tuesday conducted a public hearing on the governor’s nominee to the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation board of directors, Donald Robert Browne.
Browne served as senior vice president of operations for Imperial Pacific International LLC from 2015 to 2020, and as interim chief executive officer from 2020 to 2021.
He is now the owner of LINCHPIN Project Management which was established in March 2021.
For the past eight years, he has resided on Saipan where he met his wife with whom he now shares two children.
“I did come here with hopes of spending my career with the casino, but life changed a little bit and I am now working for myself in the private sector… I’m getting some pretty deep roots here,” Browne told the Senate panel.
Browne has over 40 years of casino hotel experience in four countries, and spent 17 years in a senior executive position.
He served as vice president of casino operations for the Trump Marina Hotel and Casino from 2005 to 2010, and as senior vice president of operations and general manager until 2011 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
He was the casino project manager for the Trump Ocean Club from 2008 to 2009 in Panama City, Panama.
He then served as the senior vice president of operations for the Golden Nugget Atlantic City from 2011 to 2013, as well as the director of business support for WhiteSand Gaming Macau from 2013 to 2014.
Browne has a Six Sigma Certification from Acuity Institute, certifications for gaming management and leadership, financial and managerial accounting, and public relations and crisis management from the Stockton Institute of Gaming Management.
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres places his full trust and confidence in Browne’s ability to serve on the CUC board.
Browne, for his part, thanked the governor for the nomination.
“CUC always comes through,” Browne said. “A lot of people like to criticize things about CUC, but we were up and running after substantial damage to our CNMI community [following a super typhoon]. We’ve been through a lot and I think we’ve all grown as a family here. This is sort of a community service, which I guess I haven’t been a part of in the past. I’d like to get more involved in the community and help CUC as a board member.”
He added, “Boards are good, with respect to their support of the operation. There are some very bad boards, too, so I’d like to be part of a very good board. I’ve worked with some very good boards and I know what boards can contribute to an operation. I think that my input and my drive will help support the operation. I know we’ve got some great people over there.”
According to Browne, “We’re all clients and we’re all customers of CUC, so we all have skin in the game. It’s really all of our jobs to support CUC. Without CUC, we pretty much have nothing. We need water, we need power, we need wastewater cleaning for the environment. These are the things that I’d like to get a better understanding of and be more involved with here in the CNMI. I understand that it’s a great responsibility, and I’m up to the task. If the senators confirm the nomination, I would be honored and appreciative of their support.”
Browne said he is “a quick learner, and I will educate myself and take appropriate action with the board members. I’ve worked closely before with the [CUC] executive director [Gary Camacho], and I think with his experience, he can help guide me a little bit on some of the initiatives and some of the challenges, some of our strengths and our weakness that we have with CUC. I have an abundance of time, and I will devote a majority of that time to getting myself up to speed, getting out there and helping to devise ways to either spend money or get capital investment.”
Browne said, “Infrastructure is key to everything. We have a lot of infrastructure challenges. Now is the time. We have the time and some capital to spend on those. I’d like to get going, too, so I’m not just going to just sit and relax. I’d like to get the wheels turning.”
He said he has “done a little bit of research and I know that we can never fully get away from fossil fuels; it’s going to be impossible, but I do know that we have new generators coming that are much more efficient…. Renewable energy will go a long way, I think, will go a long way in reducing the bills… It’s pretty much common knowledge that we have to evolve into relying less on fossil fuels.”
The committee members present for the hearing were committee chair Sen. Francisco Q. Cruz, vice chair Sen. Victor B. Hocog, and Senate Vice President Justo S. Quitugua. But Quitugua left the chamber before the governor’s representative introduced the nominee.
Sen. Floor Leader Vinnie F. Sablan and Sen. Karl King-Nabors were both excused.
CUC Executive Director Gary Camacho provided testimony in support of Browne’s nomination to the board, citing his experience in business, planning and finance, which Camacho said will greatly benefit the corporation.
Camacho noted that because one board member is currently off-island and another is running for office, the board only has three active members, which do not constitute a quorum to conduct official business.
“I think it’s imperative that we do everything we can to try to fill and bring quorum so that we can continue with our operations and continue providing the services that we provide to the community,” Camacho said.
For her part, CUC board chair Miranda Manglona provided written testimony in support of the nominee.
The committee did not receive any oral or written testimony in opposition to the nominee.
Donald Browne
