The Board of Directors of Martifer Solar USA has named Roland Kiser as its new Chief Executive Officer effective March 13, 2013. He joined the company in November 2012 as the Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Kiser will be a key leader in Martifer Solars new strategy.
I look forward to leading Martifer Solar USA and our colleagues. We have a very strong position for expanding our business and I am convinced we will deliver on our long-term growth targets in the coming years, said Mr. Kiser.
Mr. Kiser succeeds Raffi Agopian, who will become Chairman of the Board of Directors. In 2001, Mr. Agopian founded A&M Energy Solutions, a company in which Martifer Solar invested in 2008. Under his leadership Martifer Solar USA has grown from a regional installation company operating solely in Southern California to a nationwide EPC servicing Fortune 1000 and industrial accounts.
Mr. Agopian developed the core values and visualization of what Martifer Solar USA is today. We thank Raffi for all that he has accomplished with Martifer Solar USA. He helped steer the growth that our Company has achieved over the years and has built a strong team, stated Henrique Rodrigues, CEO of Martifer Solar S.A.
In addition, the Board of Directors of Martifer Solar USA has appointed Klaus Bernhart as its new Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Bernhart has more than 35 years of international experience in both commercial and investment banking in Europe and the U.S. and will be a valuable addition to the team.
Besides Martifer Solar USAs new executives, Martifer Solar S.A. has also appointed Pedro Gomes Pereira the new Regional Head for North America (USA and Canada). He will be responsible for all the group activities involving Martifer Solar USA, Martifer Solar Canada and a Member of the Board of the Martifer-Silverado Fund 1, the San Francisco-based utility-scale solar joint venture with Silverado Power. Mr. Pereira has been working with Martifer Solar in Europe for more than five years and has extensive knowledge of the companys operations, development and finance standards.
Finally, Ricardo Abecassis has been appointed VP, Development for Martifer Solars work with the Martifer-Silverado Fund 1. Mr. Abecassis has been with Martifer Group since 2007 and has been an integral member in developing the U.S. market, where he has managed strategic partnerships for both wind and solar energy activity.
The combination of the new executive teams adept renewable energy backgrounds will contribute to the strength of the existing management team. Together they will drive Martifer Solars goal of aggressively expanding the business in North America.
Achieving continued growth and profitability was important to the Board when finalizing these changes. We are convinced about these management changes and look forward to a successful future, remarked Henrique Rodrigues, CEO of Martifer Solar S.A.
