Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi announced on Wednesday that he has selected Sam Moku to be his chief of staff.

Moku will be leaving his position as executive director of athletics and community relations for Hawaii Pacific University. He will start working for the city on Feb. 1, according to a city news release.

“Sam brings with him a wealth of knowledge in local government and an incredible work ethic,” Blangiardi said in a statement.

“In all the years I’ve known Sam, I’ve known him to be a man of high integrity and strong character. From finding facilities for his various HPU athletic teams to call home, to forging a way forward to help address the growing number of Native Hawaiian families struggling with homelessness, he is truly a problem solver and someone on a passionate pursuit to make things better. We are so proud to have him on our team.”

Previously, Moku served as the director of Honolulu’s Department of Community Services under Mayor Peter Carlisle and is also a former director of the Home Ownership Assistance Program at the Hawaii Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

Moku is a graduate of Damien Memorial School and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s of business administration, according to the city.