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SunPower CEO Tom Werner To Step Down After 18 Years

Anu Bhambhani

Leading American solar power company SunPower Corporation has named Peter Faricy as the company's new CEO who will assume responsibilities from April 19, 2021. He will replace current CEO and Chairman of the board, Tom Werner, who plans to retire.

Having been with SunPower for past 18 years, Werner is stepping down to pursue strategic investing in purpose-driven start-ups with an aim to participate in efforts to work towards a more diverse and equitable future, according to the company.

Werner plans to continue in his role as chairman of the Board of Directors for next 6 months to ensure a smooth transition. At the end of the period, the board plans to recombined the positions of chairman of the board and CEO.

Peter Faricy will join the company from Discovery, Inc. where he till recently served as the company's CEO of Global Direct-to-Consumer business, and before Discovery, he was with Amazon for 13 years, most recently as the vice president of Amazon Marketplace.

"Tom, through the 18 years he dedicated to SunPower, has been a strong leader who has led the company to become one of the main players of the US distributed solar market," said Chairman of the board and CEO of Total, Patrick Pouyanné. "Peter's joining the company is a great new asset to SunPower. His unique expertise and skills will allow SunPower to further expand its customer approach and offerings in the US market, bringing them to a new level."

Tom Werner will participate in the company's fiscal performance call for Q1/2021. The company said it was confident of achieving its forecast for the quarter (see SunPower Exited 2020 With $599 Million Net Income).