SolarEdge names former SMA America president John Berdner as North America GM

SolarEdge Technologies has appointed former SMA America president John Berdner as its general manager for North America, where he will direct operations in the region for the distributed solar power harvesting and PV monitoring solutions company.

Berdner comes to SolarEdge from GroSolar, where he was VP of technology. Before that, he was the founder and president of SMA America. In 2000, he led SMA’s introduction of the popular Sunny Boy inverters into the U.S. market. He was president of the company from 2000-2006.

“John has developed an enviable track record of growing successful businesses in the US market,” said Guy Sella, chairman/CEO/founder of SolarEdge. “His expertise in PV inverters and depth of industry knowledge makes him a key addition to our executive team. SolarEdge will benefit greatly from his nearly 30 years of PV experience and the numerous longstanding relationships he has developed with PV panel manufacturers, integrators, distributors, and PV system owners.

“John also has a strong background in regulatory compliance issues, which will be essential for proliferation of our distributed power harvesting system with its cutting-edge performance advancements and safety enhancements,” noted Sella.

Berdner said that when he was first introduced to SolarEdge at Intersolar 2009 in Munich, he “found it to be one of the most interesting concepts at the show. As I learned more about the technology and the company’s holistic approach to system design, I became even more impressed.

“I am thrilled to join an incredible team at SolarEdge, and I look forward to expanding market penetration of this revolutionary power conversion solution in North America.”