SolFocus Names Former Lockheed Martin Executive Mark Crowley as President
Focus on Execution as Company Moves CPV Technology into Commercialization
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – August 12, 2008 – SolFocus, Inc. today announced that Mark Crowley has joined the company as President, reporting to Chairman and CEO Gary D. Conley. This expansion of the leadership team marks the shift of the company from R&D and product development, into the commercialization and volume deployment phase of its business. Mr. Crowley joins SolFocus from Lockheed Martin Space Systems where he was Vice President of West Coast Operations. Mr. Crowley will be taking over responsibilities for product development, delivery, support and execution of the company’s operations. “SolFocus has recently reached a major milestone in its development as a company which is the deployment of its first commercial Concentrator Photovoltaic (CPV) plant,” commented CEO Conley. “We are extremely pleased to have Mark join us, as he brings with him a proven ability to address the execution challenges and processes which will face our business in this fast growth phase.”
Mr. Crowley brings to SolFocus over 25 years of technical and program management experience which includes time at Lockheed Martin as VP of Technical Operations, VP of Programs and Subcontracts, as well as VP and Program Director of the company’s SBIRS program, a highly technical and complex program utilizing some of the same technologies such as non-imaging optics which are used in SolFocus solar systems. He began his career at General Electric and then GE/Martin Marietta Astro Space where he led design and development efforts in a variety of areas. Mr. Crowley has a BS in Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering from the University of Illinois, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University, and holds an MS degree in Management through the Stanford Sloan Program.
“As a veteran of the aerospace industry, it is exciting to be a part of a company which is taking space solar cell technology and innovatively incorporating it into solar systems which are positioned to deliver on the promise of low-cost solar energy,” explained Mr. Crowley. “As the company moves from product innovation into deployed energy-producing power plants the cadence of execution shifts. I am pleased that I’m able to bring my expertise in execution to SolFocus and lead the efforts at this critical time.”
SolFocus, which was founded in November 2005, announced last week the deployment of its first 200kW power plant in Puertollano, Spain. The company will complete installation of a second 300kW power plant in Almogera, Spain later this month, with other installations in southern Europe and the southwestern US over the balance of the year.
About SolFocus
The SolFocus mission is to enable solar energy generation at a Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) competitive with traditional fossil fuel sources. To achieve this goal, SolFocus has developed leading concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) technology which combines high-efficiency solar cells (approaching 40%) and advanced optics to provide solar energy solutions which are scalable, dependable and capable of delivering on the promise of clean, low-cost, renewable energy. SolFocus is headquartered in Mountain View, California with European operations headquartered in Madrid, Spain, and manufacturing in Mesa, Arizona as well as with manufacturing partners in India and China.