Suniva taps former SunPower COO Pai to join board

Suniva has added solar industry veteran PM Pai, former COO of SunPower, to its board of directors. Pai will share his expertise as the crystalline-silicon solar cell manufacturer streamlines supply chain operations, increases production, and expands marketing.

"PM is one of the most highly regarded minds in manufacturing and is credited as a major force in turning SunPower into a leader in the global solar industry," said John Baumstark, CEO of Suniva. "Suniva's solar cell technology was specifically designed to increase efficiency without high cost and PM's expertise and advice will be most valuable in helping to bring our new technology to market quickly and to establish market leadership."

Pai served as SunPower's COO from April 2005 to July 2008. During that time, he was responsible for strategic planning, production expansion, and supply chain development on a worldwide basis. Before that, Pai was president of Moser Baer India, the world's second-largest manufacturer of optical storage media.

At Suniva, Pai will work closely with Ajeet Rohatgi, founder and CTO of Suniva, Stephen Shea, VP of manufacturing, and Daniel Meier, VP of R&D. Pai joins existing board members Kedar Gupta, former GT Solar founder and CEO' New Enterprise Associates partners Harry Weller, Ravi Viswanathan, and Jon Sakoda, as well as Baumstark and Rohatgi .

"With Stephen, Daniel, and Ajeet, Suniva's technical team already has over 100 years of photovoltaic experience," said Pai. "Coupling this expertise with the business acumen of John Baumstark and the rest of the executive team, Suniva has quickly secured a great reputation and enviable market position. I look forward to helping them achieve great success on the path to grid parity."