Bellevue University Names New Members, Chair to Board of Directors

BELLEVUE, Nebraska – Bellevue University officially welcomed two new board members and a new board chairman during its regular winter meeting held Feb. 26.

New board members include Steve Kaniewski, President and CEO of Valmont Industries and Admiral Annie Andrews, Assistant Administrator for Human Resource Management at the Federal Aviation Administration. Fred Hunzeker, CEO of Tenaska Marketing Group and member of the university’s board of directors, succeeds Mike Cassling as Chairman of the Bellevue University Board of Directors.

“Bellevue University’s Board of Directors has always provided exceptional leadership,” Dr. Mary Hawkins, Bellevue University President, said. “Clearly, these new members will continue that tradition. One of the keys to our success is that our Board members share our passion and commitment to students.”

Kaniewski, Andrews and Hunzeker bring strong business and organizational skills to the Board.

Steve Kaniewski

Steve Kaniewski serves as President and CEO of Valmont Industries, Inc., a Fortune 1000 company. In his role, Kaniewski is responsible for day-to-day operations for the company’s four operating segments. Valmont operates 87 plants in 23 countries and employs 11,000 people worldwide. The company has been in the international markets for more than five decades.

Kaniewski has been with Valmont since 2010. Prior to his current role, he also served as the President and Chief Operating Officer and Group President of Valmont’s Utility Segment; Vice President of Global Operations for the Irrigation Segment; and Vice President of Information Technology.

In addition to his work at Valmont, Kaniewski currently serves as Chairman for the United Way of the Midlands and the AIM Institute where he has served on the Board since 2011.

Kaniewski, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a graduate of Santa Clara University in California.

Admiral Annie Andrews

Annie B. Andrews, a retired rear admiral from the U.S. Navy, currently serves as the Assistant Administrator for Human Resource Management at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Under Andrews’ executive leadership, the FAA has increased efficiencies by enacting collaborative-shared services in the areas of workers’ compensation and learning management systems with other modes in the Department of Transportation; launched improved employee services systems in the Benefits Operations Center; and initiated efforts to shape the future FAA workforce through innovative Strategic Workforce Planning and Succession Planning programs.

Prior to joining the FAA, Andrews served for three decades in a number of commanding officer and leadership positions for the U.S. Navy, and her naval career culminated in her role as the Commander, Navy Recruiting Command. As the Navy’s top recruiter and principal advisor to the Chief of Naval Personnel on recruitment strategy and objectives, she led recruitment efforts for officer and enlisted programs in both the Active Duty and Reserve components.

Andrews has earned multiple academic degrees. She is a graduate of Savannah State University, Troy State University, the College of Naval Command and the Staff and the Armed Forces Staff College. She has also received numerous awards, including most recently, recognition for outstanding achievement in government and law by the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame in 2018.

Fred Hunzeker

As CEO, Fred Hunzeker provides oversight to Tenaska’s energy marketing companies, including the natural gas marketing companies Tenaska Marketing Ventures, Tenaska Marketing Canada, Tenaska Gas Storage, Tenaska Gas de Mexico (collectively TMV), Tenaska’s power marketing affiliate, Tenaska Power Services Co. and the revenue components of the Tenaska generating assets. He is a member of Tenaska’s Board of Stakeholders.

Previously, Hunzeker served as president of TMV, one of the largest natural gas marketing operations in North America. TMV sells or manages 10.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily, or approximately 10% of the total U.S./Canadian natural gas demand.

Hunzeker has been a key executive at TMV since its inception in 1991 and has served as president since 1995. He was responsible for building the company’s Gas Supply Group and Risk Management Group before being named president.

Prior to joining Tenaska, Hunzeker was employed by Houston Pipeline Company. He also worked in oil and natural gas exploration at Texas Oil and Gas Corp. before moving into the company’s natural gas production and pipeline gathering system marketing groups.

Hunzeker is a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering.

Hunzeker has served on the Bellevue University board since 2015.