OFF THE CUFF

AT A GLANCE

What book is currently on your nightstand? Humble Leadership: The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust by Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein; The Technology Fallacy: How People Are the Real Key to Digital Transformation by Gerald C. Kane, Anh Nguyen Phillips, Jonathan R. Copulsky, and Garth R. Andrus; and 50 Things to Do When You Turn 50.

What charity or cause are you passionate about? We support as many charities as we can, typically those that support veterans and children: Wounded Warriors, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. We also support several cancer research clinics and charities, local food banks, and homeless shelters.

What’s the first thing you do when you get home after a long day at work? I locate my wife and give her a kiss.

What vacation spot is on your bucket list? I guess it’s got to be Fiji, right? Who doesn’t want to go to Fiji?

If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be? A gorilla: they’re intelligent, family-oriented creatures that are strong and smart. And the fact that they can actually communicate just makes them so unique.

Daniel Fenza

Daniel Fenza stepped into the role of Chugach Alaska’s President and Chief Operating Officer in March, though this coming January marks twenty-two years that he’s been with the corporation: “Like many who have been with a company this long, I’ve worked my way up through different roles and responsibilities and worked at most all of the different levels within our organization.” With this relatively new role, he says he’s most excited to implement strategies that can have a positive impact for the entire company.

Alaska Business: What do you do in your free time? Daniel Fenza: When I do have free time, I’m usually working around the house, like doing handyman work. Landscaping keeps me busy and keeps my mind clear. But when I’m not doing that, I’m usually on the golf course.

AB: Is there a skill you’re currently developing or have always wanted to learn? Fenza: I’ve been working on my guitar playing skills off and on now for thirty-five years. One day I hope to be able to play in front of somebody other than myself [he laughs].

AB: What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done? Fenza: I’m not really an adrenaline junkie, but the most daring thing that I think I’ve done is I went on what’s called a sky coaster—this was in central Florida—and it’s basically a 300foot swing, and they bring you to the top and let you go. When you’re at the top, you can look to the left and to the right and you can see both coasts of the state at the same time, you’re so high up.

AB: What’s your favorite local restaurant? Fenza: Southside Bistro.

AB: Other than your current career, if you were a kid today, what would your dream job be? Fenza: That’s easy for me: I’d be a professional athlete, either in soccer or golf. Realistically it would have been soccer over golf. maintain muscle tone. I’m not a big runner per se, but walking or using elliptical machines or something.

AB: Dead or alive, who would you like to see perform live in concert? Fenza: It would be Buddy Holly. He’s relatively tame by today’s standards, but he was very controversial and in the ‘50s he was the groundbreaker for the music I listen to today.

AB: What’s your greatest extravagance? Fenza: My wife would easily say golf… when I do get an opportunity to play a really nice golf course like a Pebble Beach or Harbor Town, I will do it.

AB: What are you superstitious about? Fenza: I’m very superstitious about sports, I have my favorite teams and I have lots and lots of superstitions—we joke about some of them. I’m a huge Tampa Bay Lightning fan and we just finished winning a second Stanley Cup. But I’ll set my TV to a certain volume to match the jersey number of the player who I think needs to score next. [AB: Does that work?] It works in my mind more than it doesn’t [he laughs].

AB: Have you ever had a supernatural experience? Fenza: I can’t honestly say that I have, but I wouldn’t mind one under the right circumstances.

AB: What’s your best attribute and worst attribute? Fenza: I would say my best attribute is being a devout family man. For the worst, as my wife would remind me, I’m always in a hurry, I’m always looking to get work done quickly, to do something quickly. And sometimes I need to remind myself to slow down.

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(ASRC)........ 55 asrc.com AT&T ......................................................... 31 att.com/cybersecurity Avis Rent-A-Car .......................................44 avisalaska.com Bering Straits Native Corp. ...................... 89 beringstraits.com aih.com Brilliant Media Strategies ......................... 33 brilliantak.com Bristol Bay Native Corp. (BBNC).............. 67 BBNCShareholderBiz.com C & R Pipe and Steel Inc. ....................... 101 crpipeandsteel.com Calista Corp. ............................................ 91 calistacorp.com Carlile Transportation Systems ............... 23 carlileconnect.com25 Central Environmental Inc ...................... 96 cei-alaska.com Chugach Alaska Corp. ............................. 12 chugach.com CIRI........................................................... 81 ciri.com Color Art Printing, Inc.............................. 78 colorartprinting.com Conrad-Houston Insurance Agency..... 131 chialaska.com Construction Machinery Industrial ........... 2 cmiak.com Cook Inlet Tribal Council......................... 63 citci.org Cook Inlet Tug & Barge Inc. .................... 74 cookinlettug.com Crowley Fuels ........................................ 125 crowley.com/AB Davis Wright Tremaine LLP...................... 53 dwt.com Design Alaska........................................... 27 designalaska.com Donlin Gold ............................................. 45 donlingold.com Dorsey & Whitney LLP ............................. 42 dorsey.com Doyon Limited ......................................... 76 doyon.com Engineered Solutions Group................... 29 epc@epconstructors.com Equipment Source Inc........................... 145 esialaska.com First National Bank Alaska (FNBA) ............. 5 fnbaalaska.com Foss Maritime........................................... 75 foss.com Ilisagvik College....................................... 69 ilisagvik.edu JAG Alaska ...............................................40 jagmarinegroup.com Jim Meinel CPA PC.................................. 93 meinelcpa.com KeyBank ................................................... 74 key.com Koniag Inc. ............................................... 47 koniag.com Landye Bennett Blumstein LLP ............... 39 ancsa.lbblawyers.com Leonardo DRS.......................................... 65 leonardoDRS.com/Alaska Lynden.................................................... 156 lynden.com Material Flow & Conveyor Systems Inc. ...94 materialflow.com Matson .................................................... 25 Matson.com/Alaska MTA – Matanuska Telephone Assoc. 11, 49 mtasolutions.com NANA Regional Corp. .............................. 33 nana.com NCB.......................................................... 79 ncb.coop Nenana Heating Services Inc .................. 75 nenanaheatingservices.net New Horizons Telecom, Inc.................... 13 nhtiusa.com Northern Air Cargo....................... 148, 149 NAC.aero Northrim Bank ......................................... 15 northrim.com NOVAGOLD ........................................... 127 novagold.com Oxford Assaying & Refining Inc............. 131 oxfordmetals.com Pacific Dataport....................................... 17 pacificdataport.com Pacific Pile & Marine .............................. 147 pacificpile.com Parker Smith & Feek................................. 21 psfinc.com PND Engineers Inc................................... 37 pndengineers.com Price Gregory International Inc............... 78 pricegregory.com Quintillion Networks ............................... 35 qexpressnet.com Ravn Alaska .............................................. 27 ravnalaska.com/cargo-rates RESPEC .................................................... 32 respec.com Renewal by Andersen.................................7 AlaskaWindowPros.com Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt.................. 59 schwabe.com SeaTac Marine Service............................. 19 seatacmarine.com SmithCo Side Dump Trailers ................... 99 sidedump.com Stellar Designs Inc. .................................. 77 stellar-designs.com The Kuskokwim Corp. ............................. 87 Kuskokwim.com The Plans Room ...................................... 32 theplansroom.com Toast of the Town.................................... 73 toastofthetownak.com UA Local 375 Plumbers & Pipefitters ...... 85 ualocal375.org Udelhoven Oilfield System Services Inc. ... 97 udelhoven.com Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corp........................... 57 uicalaska.com Umialik Insurance Company................... 79 umialik.com United Way of Anchorage ..................... 143 liveunitedanchorage.org USI Insurance Services ............................46 usi.com Usibelli Coal Mine.................................. 133 usibelli.com Visit Anchorage...................................... 141 meetings@anchorage.net Voice of the Arctic Inupiat....................... 61 voiceoftheinupiat.org West-Mark Service Center....................... 76 west-mark.com Yukon Equipment Inc. ........................... 137 yukoneq.com