First Solar Announces Departure of Bruce Sohn

First Solar, Inc. announced that Bruce Sohn, president of operations, will be leaving the company effective April 30, 2011. Sohn will not be replaced, and his direct reports will continue in their current responsibilities with new reporting lines.

Among those leaders, Tymen DeJong, senior VP of operations, Doug Duval, VP of supply chain, Heinrich Eichermueller, senior VP of plant replication, and Jim Lamon, senior VP of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), will report to Rob Gillette, CEO of First Solar.

“Bruce has been an important part of First Solar’s history and growth, and his dedication to our vision has been unwavering. His leadership in establishing and building our manufacturing capabilities on a global scale has been a key driver of our success,” said Gillette. “Bruce and I have taken stock of his considerable achievements and we have agreed this is a natural time for him to pursue new opportunities outside the company. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

“I am proud of what we have accomplished at First Solar so far and remain confident in the company’s future,” said Sohn. “Not only have we achieved our cost and manufacturing milestones, but we also have positioned a new generation of leaders to take First Solar into the next phase of growth.”

Sohn has been an integral part of First Solar’s early history, working as an engineering, operations and managerial consultant and serving on First Solar’s Board of Directors from 2003 to 2009. He joined the executive team in 2007 as president, and since then has been responsible for technology, operations and supply chain for module production, as well as for the EPC and Operations and Maintenance groups.

DeJong joined First Solar in 2010 as VP of manufacturing from Numonyx Corporation, where he worked since 2008, most recently as a VP of assembly/test manufacturing. Before that he worked for 25 years at Intel Corporation in fab and assembly/test manufacturing.

Duval joined First Solar as VP of global supply chain management in 2008 from Spansion Inc., where he was VP, global supply chain management. He previously worked in procurement at Advanced Micro Devices and Westinghouse Electric Corporation.

Eichermueller has been with First Solar’s manufacturing team since 2006 and has run the Plant Replication team for the past year. Before that he held roles as VP of operations for NanoNexus, FlexICs and Siemens Solar Industries. Lamon joined First Solar’s EPC group in 2008. He has more than 25 years of experience in engineering and construction management, including leadership positions at Shaw Power, Aker Kvaerner Power, Clark Construction and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.