Worldwide Energy & Manufacturing USA, which supplies PV solar modules under the Amerisolar brand, has had a momentous week of executive changes. The company announced that on April 25, its board of directors removed Jimmy Wang as the company’s CEO, chairman as well as from all other offices and positions that he held at Worldwide and with any of the company’s subsidiaries and affiliates. The board also discharged Mindy Wang, wife of Jimmy Wang, on April 25, from all offices and positions she held at the company, its subsidiaries and affiliates, which included secretary and treasurer of Worldwide. Although both Jimmy and Mindy Wang will no longer serve in their former executive positions, they will remain on the board of directors.
In addition to the removal of Jimmy and Mindy Wang, Michael Toups, CFO for Worldwide, resigned from his position April 26. He had been acting as interim CFO since February. The company did not disclose further details regarding its release of Jimmy and Mindy Wang or the departure of Toups.
In light of the executive changes, Jeff Watson has been selected as Worldwide’s president, CEO and interim secretary and treasurer. He has served as the company’s president since January 2008 and joined the board as vice chairman in May 2010. Watson has over 23-years of manufacturing experience from different industries. Before his employment with Worldwide, Watson was president of Joslyn Sunbank and was an engineer in the power transmission industry with Fasco Gearmotors. He worked with Fasco until 2001 supporting the company with engineering and managerial position, including serving as general manager. Watson received his BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Missouri.
“The Board would like to thank Jimmy Wang for his crucial contribution to Worldwide's inception and development,” said Watson. “Jimmy's vision in opening new doors for Worldwide created vast opportunities for this business. He successfully took the company from providing contract manufacturing services globally to also becoming a growing manufacturer of solar modules. As a fairly new entrant to the PV solar market, Worldwide has competed very successfully in this competitive space and has grown revenues significantly and consistently at higher rates than the industry.”