14 April 2011

First Solar announces departure of president of operations Bruce Sohn

First Solar Inc of Tempe, AZ, USA, which makes thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules based on cadmium telluride (CdTe) as well as providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, says that president of operations Bruce Sohn is leaving the firm at the end of April.

He will not be replaced, and his direct reports will continue in their current responsibilities with new reporting lines: senior VP of operations Tymen DeJong, VP of supply chain Doug Duval, senior VP of plant replication Heinrich Eichermueller, and senior VP of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) Jim Lamon will report to CEO Rob Gillette.

“Bruce has been an important part of First Solar's history and growth, and his dedication to our vision has been unwavering. His leadership in establishing and building our manufacturing capabilities on a global scale has been a key driver of our success,” says Gillette. “This is a natural time for him to pursue new opportunities outside the company,” he adds.

“Not only have we achieved our cost and manufacturing milestones, but we also have positioned a new generation of leaders to take First Solar into the next phase of growth,” comments Sohn.

Sohn has been an integral part of First Solar’s early history, working as an engineering, operations and managerial consultant and serving on the firm's board of directors from 2003 to 2009. He joined the executive team in 2007 as president, and has since been responsible for technology, operations and supply chain for module production, as well as for the EPC and Operations and Maintenance groups.

DeJong joined First Solar in 2010 as VP of manufacturing from Numonyx Corp, where he worked since 2008 (most recently as a VP of Assembly/Test Manufacturing). Before that he worked for 25 years at Intel Corp in Fab and Assembly/Test Manufacturing. Duval joined as VP of Global Supply Chain Management in 2008 from Spansion Inc, where he was VP, Global Supply Chain Management. He previously worked in procurement at Advanced Micro Devices and Westinghouse Electric Corp. Eichermueller has been with First Solar’s manufacturing team since 2006 and has run the Plant Replication team for the past year. Before that he held roles as VP of operations for NanoNexus, FlexICs and Siemens Solar Industries. Lamon joined First Solar’s EPC group in 2008. He has more than 25 years of experience in engineering and construction management, including leadership positions at Shaw Power, Aker Kvaerner Power, Clark Construction and the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Tags: First Solar Thin-film photovoltaic CdTe

Visit: www.firstsolar.com

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