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Applied Materials’ Solar Business Group is to receive a new CTO in the form of Dr. Winfried Hoffmann (pictured), a solar industry veteran with over 30 years of managerial experience.  He has also been appointed as a member of the management board for Applied Materials, effective from April 2007.  Hoffmann’s most recent position was as chairman of Schott Solar GmbH.  He began his career in 1979 at NUKEM’s solar division and took over leadership of the company in 1985.  He then led the PV joint venture between NUKEM and Daimler –Benz Aerospace in 1994, leading to his appointment as managing director of ASE GmbH and Chairman of the ASE Americas board.  Hoffmann’s career with Schott began in 2002 when he was appointed chairman of the board of management at RWE Schott Solar GmbH.  The acquisition by Schott in 2005 led to his being appointed a member of the management committee of the company, and since then he has also been appointed a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg, Germany, and a member of the Supervisory Board of the Institute for Solar Energy Research, also in Germany.  

This new position with Applied Materials will see Dr. Hoffmann managing the company’s technology developments in the U.S., Asia and Europe.  He will remain in his role as EPIA President and in his leadership position with the German Solar Industry Association.

Applied Materials Inc. is the world's largest semiconductor equipment supplier.