Executives Bio & Information
Chief Executive Officer
Fui Tupai Mau Simanu
Fui Tupai Mau Simanu started as the Chief Executive Officer for the Ministry in June of 2022. He joined MWTI after having worked as the Chief Engineer for the Electric Power Corporation (EPC) for eight years from 2014 to 2022. Fui is a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) with the Institute of Professional Engineers of Samoa (IPES). He is one of the senior members of IPES having served as its President from 2015 to 2017 and also as a Council member from 2013 to 2018. He has more than 20 years of experience in the Power Industry which has seen him worked on some of the biggest Infrastructure and Renewable Energy projects implemented by the Samoan Government. He is also a former lecturer at the National University of Samoa’s Institute of Technology. He hails from the villages of Savaia, Falefa, Sagone and Saoluafata.
ACEO Civil Aviation Division (CAD)
Lauano Yvonne Tuioti Mariner
Lauano started working for MWTI in 2004 as the Principal Officer for Aviation Security. She left the Ministry after ten years to become the Quality Assurance and Safety Officer for Samoa Airways Ltd. She re-joined MWTI in 2019 as the Assistant Chief Executive Officer for Civil Aviation, a role she still holds up to this day. Lauano has the distinction of being first in a number of important milestones in Civil Aviation for Samoa. She was the first female technical officer for Civil Aviation to work for the Ministry. She was also the first Samoan to graduate with Graduate Diploma in Aviation from National University of Singapore as well as being the first Samoan to complete the ICAO Aviation Security Inspector’s course. She is the proud mother of five children and is from the villages of Lelata, Salelologa and Patamea.
ACEO Corporate Services Division (CSD)
Magele Faamaini Fotu Vaa
Magele Faamaini Fotu-Vaa has been working for the Government of Samoa for thirty-eight (38) years, including 12 years at the Senior Management Level and five (5) consecutive terms as ACEO for the Ministry of Works, Transport and Infrastructure Corporate Services Division. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from our National University of Samoa and a Master in Business Administration from the University of the South Pacific.
ACEO Legal
Tualamaalii Wendy Theresa Pogi
Tualamaalii Leuluaialii Wendy Pogi joined the Ministry in 2023 from the Electric Power Corporation where she served as the Manager Legal Services for 10 years. Before joining EPC, she worked at the Ministry of Customs and Revenue and also worked in the Cook Islands for 3 years. Prior to her working in the Cook Islands, she worked at the Office of the Attorney General in its Prosecution Division and was also seconded to the Law Reform Commission. Tualamaalii is a graduate of the USP School of Law in Vanuatu and has been a member of the Samoa Law Society for over 15 years. She hails from the villages of Solosolo, Vaiusu and Lepa.
ACEO Building Regulatory Division (ARD)
Tilianamua Aloalii
Tilianamua Aloalii joined the Ministry of Works Transport and Infrastructure in 2018 as the Assistant Chief Executive Officer of the Asset Management and Building Division. I previously worked as the Team Administrator (Property) for the New Zealand High Commission in Apia for three years, managing the Post’s property portfolio. For over ten years, she worked as a Quantity Surveyor for Dominion Constructors Ltd in Auckland, New Zealand.
ACEO Land Transport Division (LTD)
Maselusi Amiatu
Maselusi is a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) with extensive experience in transportation, structural engineering, and construction. He has played a key role in several high-profile international projects, including the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics (Brazil), the Waterview Tunnelling project (New Zealand), and the West Gate Tunnel (Australia). Hailing from the village of Leulumoega, Maselusi brings a unique blend of technical expertise and a global outlook to the Ministry.
ACEO Maritime Division (MTD)
Makerita Atonio
Makerita Atonio-Iese joined the Ministry of Transport in 2002, a year before its amalgamation into the Ministry of Works, Transport & Infrastructure in 2003. After 22 years of service in the Maritime Division, she assumed the role of ACEO Maritime in August 2024. She holds a Master of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Commerce in Management and Accounting, a Postgraduate Certificate in Public Sector Management, an Advanced Maritime Auditors Certificate, and a Marine Aids to Navigation Level 1 Manager Certificate.
ACEO Project Management Division (PMD)
Lesea'imalo Clarissa Laulala
Lesea'imalo Clarissa Laulala brings over a decade of experience in Samoa's WASH sector to her role at MWTI. She joins the Ministry after serving as the Programme Manager of the Independent Water Schemes Association (IWSA), where she led the NGO's strategic direction and managed water infrastructure projects for communities across Samoa. Her hands-on background in securing international funding, leading capital works, and building the capacity of communities provides a strong foundation for her public service. She is from the villages of Vailu’utai & Saleapaga.
ACEO Planning and Sector Coordination Division (PSCD)
Tofilau Shamila Leavai
ACEO Planning & Urban Management Agency Division (PUMA)
Talamau Della Savaiinaea Siomia
Talamau Della Savaiinaea Siomia first joined the Planning and Urban Management Agency as the Sustainable Development Officer in 2011. She holds a Master of Environmental Management degree from the University of Queensland, Australia, specialising in Planning & Environmental Impact Assessment and GIS.
ACEO Energy Policy Coordination & Management Division
Tupuivao Vaiaso Junior Vaiaso
Tupuivao joined the Ministry of Works Transport and Infrastructure as the ACEO for the EPCM division and Energy Sector Coordinator in late November 2024. He is a former lecturer at the National University of Samoa Faculty of Science since 2013 with experience in areas of energy, physics, and engineering technology in electrical and electronics . He and Michael Jack have published an article called “Quantifying the trade-off between percentage of renewable supply and affordability in Pacific island countries: Case study of Samoa”. Tupuivao hails from the villages of Vaitele-Uta, Solosolo, Vailoa Palauli and Auala.