Management

Dr. Chris Gronet: Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Gronet founded Solyndra, Inc. in May 2005, building on a long track record of product development and market achievement. He spent 11 years at semiconductor equipment manufacturer Applied Materials, Inc., where he was most recently VP and General Manager of the Transistor, Capacitor and Gate product group, which he built into a $1.2 billion global market leader in less than six years. Earlier, Dr. Gronet founded G-Squared Semiconductor Corp. (acquired by Applied Materials), which invented and developed enabling technology for rapid thermal processing of silicon wafers for manufacturing integrated circuits. Before that, he was at SERA Solar, where he pioneered new photovoltaic technologies. Today, Dr. Gronet holds over 20 U.S. patents in thin film and related technologies. He is an alumnus of Stanford University, where he earned a Ph.D. in semiconductor processing and a bachelor of science degree in materials science.

Ben Bierman: VP of Global Operations

Mr. Bierman's experience spans senior roles in general management, operational and new product development over more than 25 years. He comes to Solyndra from Coherent, Inc., one of the world's leading designers and manufacturers of photonics-based solutions. As VP of Business Management for Coherent's Laser Systems Group, he managed a $400 million P&L while supervising the operations of design and manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Europe. He was previously a Managing Director at both Lam Research and Applied Materials, suppliers of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the worldwide semiconductor industry. He has played key roles in the design, construction, and general production activities of manufacturing facilities for semiconductors, semiconductor capital equipment, lasers and telecom components.

Dr. J. Kelly Truman: VP of Marketing, Sales and Business Development

Dr. Truman, who has been with Solyndra since June 2005, brings more than a 25 year history of success in advanced material and thin film technology development, commercialization and marketing. He was previously VP of Marketing at ReVera, Inc., a venture capital-backed provider of next-generation metrology used to monitor and control films and critical layers deployed in the semiconductor manufacturing process. Earlier, he held a number of top posts at Applied Materials, including Chief Marketing Officer and Director of Strategic Technology & Marketing for the Transistor Gate and Substrate division, a $500 million business unit, and as General Manager he built the Wet Clean division as an internal start-up. His academic experience includes a stint as Director, Advanced Research Programs with the Department of Materials Science & Engineering at the University of Florida. Dr. Truman holds a bachelor of science in metallurgical engineering and materials science from the University of Notre Dame, and doctoral and master degrees in materials science and engineering from the University of Florida.

W.G. Bill Stover, Jr.: Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Stover comes to Solyndra from Micron Technology, Inc., a global manufacturer of semiconductor devices, where he served most recently as Chief Financial Officer. During his 18-year tenure there, he had direct oversight of the Finance, Tax, Treasury, Information Technology, Human Resources and Purchasing/Materials Management organizations. He also served as Chairman for two joint ventures between Micron and Intel, and oversaw the development of a $2 billion wafer fabrication complex that grew to employ 1,500 people. His broad experience includes managing large capital expenditures, overseeing mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, and interacting with investors. Earlier, he was a general practice audit manager with Coopers & Lybrand and holds a CPA license. He graduated with a degree in business administration with an accounting emphasis from Washington State University.