GCL System Integration Technology Co., Ltd. (GCL-SI) has brought on Chinese rival Yingli Green Energy's US head, Jeffrey Barnett. Barnett has been appointed as President of the company's Americas business. Previously he was also handling the same region for Yingli Green Energy Americas as Managing Director, looking after sales and operations of in the US, Latin America and the Caribbean.
GCL-SI's President Shu Hua said, "GCL-SI is rapidly expanding its presence overseas in the Americas, Japan, India, Australia, and Africa. To establish GCL-SI as a leader in these markets, we are building strong local teams, growing business networks, and pursuing strategic acquisitions. With these goals in mind, Jeff's deep industry experience will be a valuable asset as we accelerate business development across the Americas region."
Barnett has an MBA from Wharton and holds a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University. He comes with 15 years of experience in the renewable energy industry, having worked at Wirsol Solar, Exelon Corporation, Blue Square Energy, AstroPower. Barnett is the second top manager Yingli has lost within one year in the US. Yingli's former US managing director Robert Petrina left in 2015 to JA Solar, after nearly 7 years at the top of Yingli Green Energy Americas.
He said, "Demand for solar and other renewable energy technologies is strong across the US, Latin America and the Caribbean, and these markets present significant, rapid growth opportunities to GCL-SI. I look forward to positioning the company as the region's renewable energy leader."
GCL-SI, the solar systems arm of the Chinese GCL Group, recently announced that it had been ranked on Bloomberg's Tier I Module Manufacturers List (see GCL-SI Now Tier I). While GCL shipped around 2 GW modules in 2015, it plans to expand its production capacity to 6 GW in 2016.