Darcel L. Hulse ('70, Mechanical Engineering)

Darcel L. Hulse

President & CEO (Ret.), Sempra LNG

BS Mechanical Engineering, Cal Poly Pomona, 1970

Darcel L. Hulse began working for Unocal Corporation as an engineer in its Los Angeles refinery after earning his mechanical engineering degree from Cal Poly Pomona. He rose through the company’s ranks, serving as vice president for the company’s corporate engineering and construction division, then as president of the geothermal power division and president of Asia-Pacific ventures.

Darcel joined San Diego-based Sempra Energy International in 1999 and later served as its president. He retired in 2012 as president and CEO of Sempra LNG, a subsidiary of holding company Sempra Global.

“Above and beyond the engineering principles learned while obtaining my engineering degree, my career has been more served by the disciplined problem-solving approach that is ingrained into every engineering student at Cal Poly Pomona,” Darcel says. “The process of formally writing down everything you know about the problem and then focusing on how you address the unknowns is a skill that is applicable to every facet of life. Good leaders usually possess good problem-solving skills.”