- Push-out Score determined
- After almost 18 years in the position
- Praise for Werner
- Peter Faricy taking over
- Werner said 89 words
(exechange) — San Jose, California, March 25, 2021 — Tom Werner, chief executive of SunPower, leaves. As announced by SunPower Corp. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Thursday, March 25, 2021, Thomas H. (Tom) Werner leaves his post as chief executive officer at the solar panel maker after almost 18 years in the role, effective April 19, 2021.
It is the end of an era.
Tom Werner’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Peter Faricy, most recently CEO of Global Direct-to-Consumer of Discovery, Inc.
The fact that Tom Werner’s successor is brought in from outside suggests that the board may seek to stimulate change with fresh ideas and new initiatives.
“The time is right for a new leader”
Tom Werner’s departure from the CEO post is explained as follows. Tom Werner said: “The time is right for a new leader to take the reins and set the course for SunPower, especially as we enter a new era of energy solutions and services for our customers.”
Precise information regarding Tom Werner’s future plans was not immediately available.
“Retire”
SunPower said: “SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR) today announced that it will name Peter Faricy as chief executive officer (CEO), following Tom Werner’s decision to retire from the company. Faricy will assume his new position effective April 19, 2021.”
SunPower further said: “Thomas H. Werner, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, will retire from his position, effective April 19, 2021, and Peter Faricy will succeed him as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, effective on the same day.”
Share price increase since March 2018
The announcement follows an increase in SunPower Corp.’s share price of 564% since March 2018.
In the position of CEO since 2003
Tom Werner became CEO of the Company in 2003.
To ensure a smooth transition, Werner will continue in his role of chairman of the board of directors, planned to be six months.
At the end of this period, the intent of the board of directors is to recombine the positions of chairman of the board and CEO.
Thomas Werner has served as the Company’s chief executive officer and as a member of the Board since June 2003, and chairman of the Board since May 2011.
From 2001 to 2003, before joining SunPower, he held the position of chief executive officer of Silicon Light Machines, Inc., an optical solutions subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation.
From 1998 to 2001, Werner served as vice president and general manager of the Business Connectivity Group of 3Com Corp., a network solutions company.
He also held a number of executive management positions at Oak Industries, Inc. and General Electric Co.
Werner currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Cree, Inc., an LED manufacturer, and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.
He is also on the board of trustees of Marquette University.
Werner served as a member of the board of directors of Silver Spring Networks, a provider of smart grid applications, from March 2009 to January 2018.
Werner holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Marquette University, and a master’s degree in business administration from George Washington University.
Push-out Score determined
The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding Tom Werner’s move on a scale of 0 to 10.
exechange reached out to SunPower and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 13.2021 ($).