Dee Jay Mailer, who formerly headed the Kaiser Permanente medical plan in Hawai‘i, will take her new job Jan. 19, the school announced today.Mailer, a 1970 Kamehameha graduate, is chief operating officer of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Her predecessor, Hamilton McCubbin, resigned the CEO post in May, citing family reasons.

In the interim, Colleen Wong, Kamehameha’s legal chief, has held the post and now will return to her job as vice president for legal affairs.

Constance Lau, who chairs the Kamehameha board of trustees, said today that in her tenure with Kaiser Mailer demonstrated a talent for "turning organizations around during difficult times."

"She has a unique skill of focusing people in the mission of the organization."

Mailer could not be reached for comment today, but she issued a prepared statement that she “wanted to be able to somehow give back to Hawai‘i what I believe has been my foundation for success throughout my career.”

Until 1999, Mailer was senior vice president and regional manager of Kaiser Permanente Hawai‘i. Mailer headed Kaiser in Hawai‘i for 4 1/2 years; for the preceding four years she was its regional hospital administrator.