First Solar Names Honeywell Exec as CEO
Updated from Thursday, Sept. 3
TEMPE, Ariz. (
) --
First Solar
(FSLR) - Get Report
poached the ranks of
Honeywell
(HON) - Get Report
in search of its next CEO and found him in aerospace division chief Robert Gillette.
The thin-film solar manufacturer tapped Gillette to take First Solar's top spot. The search was sparked when current CEO Michael Ahearn announced plans to step down earlier this year.
First Solar shares closed Thursday up $1.62 to $119.94, and rose to $120.07 in after-hours trading.
According to a press release, Gillette led more than 40,000 associates at 100 manufacturing and service sites as CEO of Honeywell Aerospace. The unit generated more than $12 billion in sales a year.
Before that, Gillette headed other Honeywell units after serving for 10 years in various management positions at
General Electric
(GE) - Get Report
.
Ahearn, who will stay on as executive chairman, noted in a statement Gillette's experience in "fostering innovation and bringing new technologies" to fruition. Ahearn also recited Gillette's work across a wide swath of diverse markets in Europe, Asia and South America.
Elsewhere around the sector,
Suntech Power
(STP)
and
SunPower
(SPWRA)
closed Thursday up 6.2% and 6.4%, respectively, but slipped in after-hours trading.
-- Written by Sung Moss in New York
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