Markets & Finance

A power industry veteran with over 25 years’ senior experience, Gian Maria Ferrero has joined the SunPower team as vice president and general manager of utilities and power plants for the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions. Ferrero joins the company from his former role as CEO for SAE Power Lines, prior to which he held various senior roles in a 23-year tenure with ABB.

Gary Fazzino, a former Mayor of Palo Alto and Hewlett-Packard's Vice President of Government and Public Affairs since May 2000 has joined Applied Materials as Vice President, Government Affairs, responsible for Applied’s global government relations programs.

Professor Dr. Volker Wittwer, deputy director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and supernumerary professor at the University of Freiburg, Germany celebrated his 65th birthday and retired from his position at the end of June. He will continue to consult with the institute, but will no longer serve as director to follow German service regulations.

Semilab, one of the world's largest metrology companies, has named Dr. Chris Moore as President and CEO of Semilab USA. This decision gives Moore responsibility for strategic direction and operations of all Semilab divisions within the US.

Building on his experience in the equipment sales industry, Robin Bancroft, a former European agent for Baccini, has joined DEK Solar as Alternative Energies Business Development Manager for Western Europe. Mr. Bancroft brings several years of sales and management experience to the company, and will be shouldered with the responsibility of managing market development of DEK’s solar metallization lines.

Abound Solar is looking for a new CEO, as Pascal Noronha is stepping down as chief executive while taking over the role of chairman of the board of the CdTe thin-film PV company. Current chairman John Hill will remain on the board as a founding director.

Heraeus group’s PV materials sector has hired Tung Pham as research scientist for the organization; he will work primarily in the North American lab located in Pennsylvania. Under the direction of Weiming Zhang, PV research and development manager, Pham will be advancing the company’s current paste platforms and developing new PV materials.

Robert Lieberman has joined Spire Corp. as corporate controller, bringing more than 25 years of manufacturing and distribution experience to the role. As corporate controller, he will be shouldered with responsibility for Spire’s financial dealings, and working on improving existing processes and business efficiencies.

Jetion Holdings, a solar-cell manufacturer, dismissed its chief executive and three senior managers for alleged “breaches of their service contracts and fiduciary duties”. The board dismissed the four staff on the grounds that they are operators and shareholders of a solar module producer and exporter that competes with Jetion.

Receiving recognition for his contributions to the development of SunPower's high-efficiency, all-back contact solar cell, company CTO Richard Swanson (pictured) was honoured with an SEIA Industry Innovator Award at the PV America conference in Philadelphia. The SEIA Award aims to recognise entrepreneurs, scientists and advocates working towards improving the quality and efficiency of solar technology.