If this were a reality TV show, it would be called America's Next Top Solar Skipper.
In late April, First Solar
The executive search has concluded (without America's text message-based vote), and First Solar has selected Rob Gillette, CEO of Honeywell's
Honeywell Aerospace is the industrial conglomerate's biggest unit. When Gillette took the helm in 2005, this was a $9.8 billion business. Today it's an $11 billion business. That's clearly a more mature growth trajectory than First Solar and competitors such as SunPower
Reading up on Gillette's management tenure, this quote of his stood out for me: "Mainly, I select people, put them in the right positions and roles, listen to them, and alleviate what gets in their way." That last bit is strongly reminiscent of Ahearn's view of the solar business, when he spoke at the company's recent analyst/investor day about shaping the business to resolve industry constraints. Aside from already being based in Arizona, Gillette felt like a natural fit here. His decade-long stint at General Electric
When he begins on the first of October, Gillette will instantly be thrown into the middle of a turf war. His response to cutthroat competition by the likes of Suntech Power