Truebbach (Switzerland), October 29, 2007 - Oerlikon Solar, a leading global supplier of field-proven turnkey solutions for the mass production of thin-film silicon solar modules, announced today that it named Christopher Smith head of Sales and Customer Support. "We are now building up our organization in order to be able to fully exploit the tremendous market opportunities", says Dr. Uwe Krüger, CEO of Oerlikon. Smith, who used to work for Applied Materials for twelve years, is a semiconductor industry expert, and he will be responsible for expanding global sales and service operations.
"Chris Smith brings extensive management and sales skills to Oerlikon Solar," said Jeannine Sargent, CEO of Oerlikon Solar. "The addition of Chris is an important part of our solar growth strategy. He will be responsible for expanding our global presence by helping us build infrastructure closer to our customers in all regions of the world. This move further strengthens our solar business and will enable us to extend our leadership position in the marketplace."
Smith brings with him more than 20 years of executive-level experience in management and sales with high-growth companies. While at Applied Materials, he held a variety of executive-level customer support and operations positions. From 2001 to 2006 he served in vice president roles responsible for its Intel and Micron Strategic Accounts as well as North America Regional Accounts. He also served as general manager of the Chemical Mechanical Polishing Product Business. Additionally. he was managing director of Global Business Development for the Dielectric and Physical Vapor Deposition Product Business Groups. He holds three U.S. patents.
