Trina Solar restructures as Europe and Africa president Ben Hill resigns

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Trina Solar has restructured its management, with the China-headquartered PV module manufacturer’s president for Europe and Africa Ben Hill leaving the company amid speculation over his next role.

Trina said that it has conducted the management restructure to “prepare for growth” in regions including Africa and Europe, which Hill was leading. Trina announced today that Hill has resigned from the company.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Ben Hill has sometimes been credited by industry insiders as one of the driving forces behind Trina’s success in Europe in recent years. Meanwhile the vertically integrated manufacturer and developer has also become increasingly active in Africa, opening a warehouse in Pretoria last year, three years after the opening of its first office in the country three years prior to that.

Globally, the company has also become one of a handful of module makers dubbed the “super league” by PV Tech’s senior news editor Mark Osborne and Solar Intelligence analyst Finlay Colville in recent blogs for the site.

Restructure moves and Hill's next rumoured destination

As Hill leaves, Trina has made two internal appointments, which it claims will address growth in a number of regions.

The company’s former vice president of global commercial operations, Rongfang Jin, will now lead the regional module business unit (MBU) for Europe and Africa, reporting to the MBU’s overall president ZhiGuo Zhu. Jin’s former roles include time spent at OEM firm Flextronics.

Meanwhile, Rafael Esteban, Trina’s head of project finance and project development for Europe and North Africa, becomes head of the systems business unit (SBU) for the EMEA and Latin America regions. Like Hill, Esteban served for some years at BP Solar before joining Trina.

Additionally, Trina has appointed Gonzalo de la Viña, formerly with REC Solar Germany, as regional sales director for Northern Europe. De la Viña was managing director for Germany, Austria, Switzerland (DACH) and Eastern Europe at REC Solar Germany.

Trina Solar’s CEO and chairman, Jifan Gao, thanked Hill for his efforts and welcomed the new appointments.

“I would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to Mr. Ben Hill for his contributions during his tenure. I am pleased to announce the new appointments of Mr. Yin and Mr. Esteban. I am confident that the extensive experience of both Mr. Yin and Mr. Esteban in the PV sector and their proven track records will help bolster our presence and allow us to capture more growth opportunities in their respective areas.”

Meanwhile, industry speculation strongly suggested that Hill would take up a position focused on energy storage with an EV manufacturer. However the manufacturer has thus far declined to respond to two requests from PV Tech to confirm or deny the rumours.

Read Next

September 18, 2025
CERC is finalising guidelines for virtual power purchase agreements (vPPAs) to unlock financing for over 40GW of uncontracted renewable capacity.
September 18, 2025
The capacity of virtual power plants in operation in North America has reached 37.5GW, a 13.7% year-on-year growth, according to Wood Mackenzie.
September 18, 2025
The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) has forecast that Canada will add between 17GW and 26GW of solar PV over the next decade.
September 18, 2025
Researchers have called for enhanced international standards to detect ultraviolet-induced degradation (UVID) in PV modules after identifying “severe” levels of the problem in operational n-type panels.             
September 18, 2025
Indian PV makers have welcomed the government’s plan to add solar wafers to its ALMM List-III from June 2028.
September 17, 2025
US renewables developer Longroad Energy has reached financial close for its 400MW 1000 Mile solar project in the US state of Texas.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA