Bettina Mehnert

Biography: A respected visionary and leader, AHL’s president and chief executive officer, Bettina Mehnert, FAIA, LEED AP is a force in the evolution and innovation in Hawaii’s architectural sector. Her philosophy blends a focus on sustainability, technology, firm culture, client cultivation, and community service as inseparable filaments of professional leadership, keeping her 77-year-old firm firmly faced towards the future. In recognition of her management style and leadership, Mehnert has been honored with numerous awards and in 2016 was named a Fellow in the American Institute of Architecture (AIA), a prestigious honor held only by 53 architects in Hawaii since 1948. She was named CEO of the Year by Hawaii Business Magazine in 2019. In 2018, Mehnert was appointed to the new five-member Honolulu Climate Change Commission. She uses her background in architecture and engineering and her expertise in the built environment to advocate for strong resiliency policies. A licensed architect in her native Germany, Hawaii, and Guam, she is an active member of AIA Honolulu and International Chapters and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) where she serves on ULI’s National Council on Responsible Property Investment and Advisory Services Panel. She is a director of the Blue Planet Foundation, a member of the Strategic Advisory Board of Hawaii Energy, Hawaii’s Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Regional Representative, and a member of Hawaii Green Growth’s Sustainability Business Forum. Mehnert also serves on the board of Public Broadcasting System (PBS) Hawaii and as a trustee of St. Andrew’s Schools. Most recently, she participated on a United Nations Global Compact panel of Hawaii’s thought leaders on “Regenerative Global Futures” during the UN’s annual general assembly.