Ascent Solar Hires Rafael Gutierrez as Senior VP of Sales and Marketing

Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., a developer of state of the art flexible thin-film solar modules, announced that Rafael Gutierrez has accepted an offer to serve as the company’s senior vice president of sales and marketing. Mr. Gutierrez brings more than 20 years of experience in strategic marketing, business development, product development, general management and corporate strategy.

“Rafael has a proven track record of developing strong customer relationships and we feel that he will be an excellent fit for leading the sales and marketing efforts at Ascent Solar,” said Ascent Solar president and CEO Farhad Moghadam. “As we prepare to begin high volume production at the beginning of next year, the customers that Rafael establishes today will help shape the company for tomorrow and beyond. Rafael’s past experience in the highly competitive consumer electronics market will be an invaluable asset to Ascent Solar as we pursue our strategy to earn new business and fuel growth.”

Immediately prior to joining Ascent Solar, Gutierrez was general manager of consumer electronics in Seagate Technology’s Consumer Solutions Division. Prior to that role, he was responsible for Seagate’s business development and strategy for consumer electronics and storage services. Gutierrez worked at Seagate Technology for more than 18 years, where he held executive positions in corporate strategy, strategic marketing, advanced concepts, and product development. Before joining Seagate, Gutierrez held several engineering development positions with Digital Equipment Corp. Gutierrez holds a master’s degree in operations research and applied statistics from the University of Northern Colorado, and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Bellevue University.

“I am excited to become a part of the Ascent Solar team as it solidifies the company’s go-to-market plan for 2010. With the advantages of its lightweight flexible thin-film modules and technology scalability, Ascent Solar is uniquely positioned to truly open new market opportunities and at the same time establish new standards for existing ones,” stated Gutierrez.