Executive Officers

Thomas H. Werner

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, he held the position of chief executive officer of Silicon Light Machines, Inc., an optical solutions subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. Previously, 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 Cree, Inc., Silver Spring Networks and Silicon Valley Leadership Group. 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.

Dennis V. Arriola

Dennis V. Arriola joins SunPower as its senior vice president and chief financial officer (CFO). In this role, he leads the company's global finance, planning and accounting organizations. Previously, Arriola was senior vice president and CFO at San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas Co., Sempra Energy's California regulated utilities, where he was instrumental in building the finance and treasury teams, which included accounting, planning and budgeting, strategic development, risk management, information technology, and procurement. Arriola earned a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree in economics from Stanford University. He also serves as a trustee for the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute in Los Angeles, and as a member of the board of directors of the San Diego Symphony. He was recently named one of the top 100 most influential Hispanics by HispanicBusiness.com.

Marty T. Neese

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.

Jim Pape

Jim Pape serves as president of SunPower's residential and commercial business group and is responsible for driving sales, fulfillment and service for the global residential and commercial markets. He has more than 25 years of global experience successfully driving improved financial performance, developing and executing integrated strategies, building robust sales teams, and leveraging growth. Pape's diverse background includes leading sales and customer service divisions for Fortune 200 companies, commercial and military aerospace organizations, distributed contracting businesses, and heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Prior to joining SunPower, Pape served as vice president and general manager for North America at Trane Commercial Systems, where he was responsible for growing the company's commercial business for both Trane and Hussmann Refrigeration, and their respective P&L activities. Pape also held executive positions at Johnson Controls and Bearing Inspection. He earned a bachelor's of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Dr. Richard Swanson

Richard Swanson received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1974. In 1976, he joined the faculty at Stanford University where he and his group conceived and developed the point-contact solar cell. Laboratory versions of these cells achieved a record 28 percent conversion efficiency in concentrator cells and 23 percent large-area one-sun cells. In 1991, Dr. Swanson resigned from his faculty position to devote full time to SunPower Corporation, a company he founded to develop and commercialize cost-effective photovoltaic power systems. Dr. Swanson currently serves as its President and Chief Technical Officer. Along with his students and co-workers, he has published more than 200 articles in journals and conference proceedings, as well as several book chapters. In 2002, Dr. Swanson was awarded the William R. Cherry award by the IEEE for outstanding contributions to the photovoltaic field, and in 2006 the Becquerel Prize in Photovoltaics from the European Communities.

Howard Wenger

Howard Wenger serves as president of SunPower's utilities and power plants business group, responsible for driving global utilities and power plant sales, engineering, construction, and customer service, as well as component sales and international business development. From 2007 through 2009, Wenger was president, global business units, where he helped to grow SunPower's sales more than 500 percent. Prior to SunPower's acquisition of PowerLight, Wenger was PowerLight's senior vice president of global business units and executive vice president, and a member of the board. Previous experience includes AstroPower, Inc (acquired by General Electric), where he held the position of vice president, North American Business. In 1993, Wenger co-founded Pacific Energy Group, a renewable energy consulting firm noted for defining and implementing public policies and legislation to mainstream solar power. In addition, he worked for Pacific Gas & Electric Company in both research and strategic planning. Wenger also served for one year as an invited researcher at the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center in Israel, working with some of the world's leading solar scientists.

During his career, Wenger has authored dozens of papers, software programs and tools addressing various aspects of the energy business. Wenger has a B.A. in Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an M.S. in Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Bruce R. Ledesma

Mr. Ledesma serves as General Counsel for SunPower. 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.

Douglas J. Richards

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.