Former VP of sales and business development at SolarCity, John Lefebvre, has been appointed president of Suntech America, now responsible for boosting Suntech's market position throughout North and South America. The US is a key market for Suntech, and, as market leader in 2011, the company expects to benefit from the US market's doubling this year.
“John brings the ideal mix of industry experience and proven business development capabilities to lead Suntech America through the next phase of our industry's growth,” said Andrew Beebe, Suntech's chief commercial officer. “As we enter a grid parity environment, markets throughout the Americas, particularly the US and Canada, are major strategic priorities for our global organization. This appointment will help to solidify our leadership position in what will remain a key regional driver of our global growth.”
“I've been working with Suntech and their local teams for years now, and understand why and how Suntech has become the US and global market leader,” added Lefebvre, president of Suntech America.
Lefebvre began his career in the aerospace division of GE before transitioning to the semiconductor equipment industry. At Lam Research and Mattson Technology, Mr. Lefebvre held senior management and product development positions working across Asia, Europe, and the US.
Most recently, he was vice president of sales and business development at SolarCity, responsible for all of the company's sales, channel partnerships and corporate partnerships, including end-to-end management of SolarCity's residential, government and commercial sales activities, and strategic channel management.
Mr. Lefebvre received an M.B.A. from the University of British Columbia and ESADE (Barcelona, Spain), an M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering and physics from Syracuse University, and a B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from Clarkson University.