Jump to navigation
Management Team
Thomas H. Werner
Chief Executive Officer, SunPower Corporation
Thomas H. Werner has served as SunPower Corporation’s chief executive officer and as a member of the SunPower Board of Directors since June of 2003. Prior to joining SunPower, Mr. Werner held the position of chief executive officer of Silicon Light Machines, Inc., an optical solutions subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. Previously, Mr. Werner was vice president and general manager of the Business Connectivity Group of 3Com Corp., a network solutions company. He has also held a number of executive management positions at Oak Industries, Inc., and General Electric Co., and currently serves as a board member of Silicon Light Machines and, Cree, Inc. Mr. 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.
Emmanuel T. Hernandez
Chief Financial Officer
Emmanuel T. Hernandez has served as chief financial officer since April 2005. Prior to joining SunPower, Mr. Hernandez served more than 11 years as the executive vice president of finance and administration and chief financial officer at Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. Mr. Hernandez currently serves as a board member of ON Semiconductor, Aruba Networks and Integration Associates. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Nueva Caceres in the Philippines, received his CPA license from the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants and earned a master’s degree in Finance from Golden Gate University in San Francisco.
Marty T. Neese
Chief Operating Officer
Marty T. Neese joined SunPower in 2008 and is responsible for leading SunPower's global strategic operations and worldwide materials sourcing, and will oversee the execution of its recently announced solar cell fabrication plant in Malaysia. He brings more than 25 years of experience driving cost effective, scalable manufacturing processes and policies. Most recently, Neese held the position of executive vice president, worldwide operations, for Flextronics International. Prior to that, he was executive vice president, operations at Solectron Corp., where he was responsible for the daily cost, quality, delivery, and end-to-end supply chain optimization and performance for customers who were partnered with the company. Previously, Neese held the positions of vice president, worldwide program management and sales operations at Sanmina-SCI Corp., and director, business development for Jabil Circuit Co. He also served in the U.S. Army for five years, reaching the rank of Captain. Neese is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He received his master's degree in business administration from the University of Florida.
Peter Aschenbrenner
Vice President, Corporate Strategy
Peter Aschenbrenner is SunPower’s vice president, corporate strategy, having served as vice president of sales and marketing since June 2003. Prior to joining SunPower, Mr. Aschenbrenner was senior vice president of global operations at AstroPower, Inc., a solar product manufacturing company. Mr. Aschenbrenner has over 25 years of solar industry experience, including management positions at Siemens Solar, PV Electric GmbH, and ARCO Solar. He graduated from Stanford University in 1978 with a BA degree in product design.
Surinder S. Bedi
Vice President, Global Quality and Customer Satisfaction
Surinder S. Bedi serves as SunPower’s vice president of global quality and customer satisfaction, driving SunPower’s quality programs and strategic continual improvement initiatives. A 20-year veteran in the semiconductor industry, he has successfully led the design and deployment of world-class quality and reliability systems, streamlining new product introductions and improving manufacturing efficiencies. Prior to joining SunPower, Bedi was vice president of quality and reliability at Form Factor. Previously, he held the position of vice president of quality and product reliability at Applied Materials, and was also chairman of the quality steering board. During his ten years at Applied Materials, he was instrumental in helping the company achieve world class quality and reliable systems that earned numerous customer quality awards. Earlier in his career, Bedi held management positions at Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) and National Semiconductor Corp. Bedi earned a BS degree in mechanical engineering from Bangalore University, India, a MS degree in industrial and systems engineering from Ohio University, and is a graduate of executive training from Stanford University. He holds 11 technology patents from the semiconductor equipment industry.
Julie Blunden
Vice President, Public Policy and Corporate Communications
Julie Blunden joined SunPower in April of 2005 and serves as vice president, public policy and corporate communications. She is responsible for public relations, financial relations, public policy, and market development. Prior to SunPower, Ms. Blunden was a consultant at KEMA-XENERGY on energy markets, renewable resources and policy to industry, utilities and state and federal governments. In this capacity in 2004, Ms. Blunden supported the Schwarzenegger administration in developing the Million Solar Homes Initiative. In 1997, she co-founded Green Mountain Energy Company, a national retail electric supplier of renewable power. Ms. Blunden began her career doing development and acquisitions in the independent power generation business at the AES Corporation. Ms. Blunden received her MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and an AB from Dartmouth College majoring in engineering, modified with environmental studies. She serves on the board of directors at the Center for Resource Solutions and the Real Goods Solar Living Institute, as well as on the board of advisors for Vote Solar.
Brad Davis
Chief Marketing Officer
Brad Davis serves as SunPower’s chief marketing officer (CMO) and is responsible for driving SunPower’s overall brand and communication strategies. He joins the company with more than 20 years of experience building high-growth brands and award-winning communication strategies. Davis spent 12 years in traditional retail marketing with Dayton Hudson Corporation before transferring his experience to help construct one of the nation’s most recognized financial services brands as executive vice president and CMO for Washington Mutual. As CMO, Davis was a driving force behind Washington Mutual’s rapid expansion from $30 billion to over $300 billion dollars in assets. Davis was inducted into the Retail Advertising Hall of Fame in Chicago, and was named one of the Top 100 Marketers in America by Advertising Age. He was featured on the cover of Brandweek magazine for his leadership in helping reconstruct the billion dollar consumer banking ad sector. He served as Chairman of the Board of the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association from 2004 to 2006. Davis serves on the executive committee of the Seattle Art Museum. He holds a doctorate of law and currently serves in an advisory capacity to the former President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Thomas Dinwoodie
CTO, Founder of SunPower Corporation, Systems
Thomas Dinwoodie founded PowerLight (now SunPower Corporation, Systems) and served as its CEO, and chairman of the board since 1995. Mr. Dinwoodie’s background in engineering, economics, and architecture has led to the design and development of several building-integrated photovoltaic products. Prior to founding PowerLight, he was active for nearly two decades in energy technology, policy and new product development. Mr. Dinwoodie has authored many papers, and holds numerous patents on PV and related products. He has a B.S. in environmental engineering from Cornell University, an M.S. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.A. in architecture from the University of California at Berkeley.
Bruce R. Ledesma
General Counsel
Bruce Ledesma serves as general counsel for SunPower Corporation. Previously, he was general counsel for PowerLight Corporation. Prior to joining PowerLight, Mr. Ledesma served as the executive vice president and general counsel of Barra, Inc., a publicly traded financial risk management company. Prior to becoming general counsel, he ran the Barra Ventures unit in a business capacity and led the company's efforts in strategic partnerships, alliances, and all merger and acquisition activities. Mr. Ledesma also spent several years practicing as a corporate and securities attorney for the global law firm Latham & Watkins, where he represented private and public companies involved in domestic and international transactions, as well as public and private debt and equity securities offerings. Mr. Ledesma holds a B.A. in economics from Stanford University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Dr. William P. Mulligan
Vice President of Technology & Development
Dr. William Mulligan joined SunPower in May, 1998 and serves as vice president of research and technology. He worked at JX Crystals Inc. in Issaquah, Washington developing thermophotovoltaics from 1997 to 1998. From 1993 to 1997, he held a research assistantship at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado while performing doctoral research on transparent conducting oxides relevant to solar cells and flat panel displays. From 1990 to 1993, Dr. Mulligan was a senior engineer at AstroPower Inc. in Newark, Delaware where he developed low cost solar cells for both terrestrial and space applications. From 1985 to 1989, he worked at Fairchild/National Semiconductor in Puyallup, Washington where he held positions in product and process engineering, and worked on a variety of problems related to silicon-based VLSI memory and high-speed logic devices. Dr. Mulligan is an author of over twenty technical papers and patents on photovoltaic techology and transparent conductive oxides. Dr. Mulligan received dual undergraduate degrees in chemistry and history from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1983, his M.S.E in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1985, and his Ph.D. in materials science from the Colorado School of Mines in 1997.
Doug Richards
Vice President of Human Resources
Douglas J. Richards joined SunPower Corp. in 2007 and serves as the company’s vice president of human resources and corporate services. In this role, Richards is responsible for leading all Human Resources initiatives, driving Corporate Services and managing the company’s Facilities organization worldwide. Prior to joining SunPower, Richards was vice president of human resources and administration for SelectBuild, a $1.8 billion wholly owned subsidiary of BMHC, a company that serves 19 of the top 25 high-volume builders. Previously, Richards held strategic positions at BlueArc, Compaq Computer Corp and Apple Computer, Inc. He has more than 21 years of experience developing and driving key HR programs for Fortune 100 companies and venture-backed startups. Richards graduated from California State University, Chico, with a bachelors of arts degree in public administration.
Daniel Shugar
President, SunPower Corporation, Systems
Mr. Shugar serves as the president of SunPower Corporation, Systems. He joined PowerLight in January 1996 and helped the company achieve sustained high growth and increased market share. Mr. Shugar has been active in solar power since 1988. Prior to the PV industry, he worked for the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, where he managed PG&E’s Solar Projects research group after several years of transmission planning and substation operations. While there, Mr. Shugar co-authored many preeminent papers on distributed generation. He holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and an M.B.A from Golden Gate University in San Francisco.
Dr. Richard Swanson
President & Chief Technical Officer
Dr. Richard Swanson co-founded SunPower in 1985. He has served as president and chief technical officer since June 2003 and has been a member of the board of directors since 1985. Prior to his current position, Dr. Swanson served as chief executive officer and president from 1991 to June 2003 and vice president and director of technology from 1990 to 1991. From 1976 to 1991, Dr. Swanson served as a professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University. He holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University and both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Ohio State University.
Howard Wenger
President, Global Business Units
As President of Global Business Units, Wenger is responsible for driving SunPower’s growth and revenue generation, scaling the company’s rapidly growing sales organization and developing SunPower’s outbound channels for the residential, commercial and power plant markets. Previously, he served as SunPower’s senior vice president, global business units, and as executive vice president and a member of the Board at PowerLight Corp. prior to its purchase by SunPower in 2007. Under his leadership, SunPower’s revenue has grown substantially quarter on quarter and Wenger has been instrumental in negotiating and securing contracts with major retail outlets and utility-scale power plant customers. Wenger’s past experience includes vice president, North America, for AstroPower, Inc., prior to its acquisition by General Electric. During his tenure there, he guided the company to be a leader in the on-grid solar power market. He co-founded Pacific Energy Group, an energy consulting firm noted for defining and implementing public policies and legislation to mainstream solar power. Wenger also worked for PG&E in both photovoltaic research and strategic planning, and served as an invited researcher at the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center in Israel, working with some of the world’s leading solar scientists. He earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Jon Whiteman
Vice President, Strategic Supply
Jon Whiteman serves as our vice president strategic supply, leading procurement and logistics for SunPower. Prior to joining SunPower in 2003, Jon held management positions with responsibility for procurement and logistics at U-Freight Logistics, Vishay Intertechnology (Siliconix), Cypress Semiconductor, VLSI Technology and National Semiconductor. Jon earned a bachelor's degree in business/organization behavior at the University of San Francisco in 1993. He has P.O.S.T. (Police Officers Standard of Training) reserve certification (1980) from the Santa Clara County Police Academy and served as a reserve police officer for the City of Palo Alto and Mountain View, California.
