DGAP-News: SMA Solar Technology AG / Key word(s): Change of Personnel
SMA Solar Technology AG: Pierre-Pascal Urbon to take over as SMA Chief
Executive Officer
17.05.2011 / 19:37
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SMA Solar Technology AG
Pierre-Pascal Urbon to take over as SMA Chief Executive Officer
Niestetal, May 17, 2011 - Pierre-Pascal Urbon has been elected new Chief
Executive Officer of SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA/FWB: S92). The Chief
Financial Officer was appointed to the additional position of CEO at a
meeting of the Managing Board, and will take this additional assignment
from his predecessor, Günther Cramer, following the SMA Annual General
Meeting on May 26, 2011.
'The election of the new CEO and the planned move of the two founders of
the company, Günther Cramer and Peter Drews, to the Supervisory Board
signals our next step in the systematic succession strategy of the SMA
Managing Board, and thus completes the generation shift that we have been
planning carefully for many years,' explains Günther Cramer, founder and
present CEO of SMA. 'After 30 years of responsibility for operations, my
colleague Peter Drews and I will, as planned, be standing as candidates for
the Supervisory Board at the upcoming Annual General Meeting. We both
remain deeply committed to SMA and will continue to support the team in an
advisory function.'
Since 2009, Pierre-Pascal Urbon (40) has been a member of the Managing
Board with responsibility for the areas of Finance, Law and Investor
Relations. He joined SMA in 2005 and was appointed to the Managing Board in
2006. He is a Master of Business Administration and worked in consulting
from 1997 to 2005. Born and raised in eastern Westfalia, he is married and
the father of two children.
'With Pierre-Pascal Urbon, the post of new CEO is filled by a person
recruited from SMA's own ranks. He has played a key role in directing the
company on its present path and stands for strategic continuity. First of
all, Pierre-Pascal Urbon was responsible for driving SMA's
internationalization process forward, and he then implemented the corporate
IPO. His wealth of experience in consulting, operative business management
and in the international photovoltaic markets will stand him in good stead,
working together with his colleagues on the Managing Board and the
worldwide SMA team to continue the SMA success story', Günther Cramer goes
on to explain.
The members of the future Managing Board have borne great responsibility
over many years at SMA, and are a well-rehearsed team. Following the Annual
General Meeting on May 26, 2011, the Managing Board will continue to
comprise the following members: Jürgen Dolle (Chief Human Resources
Officer), Roland Grebe (Chief Technology Officer), Uwe Hertel (Chief
Operating Officer), Pierre-Pascal Urbon (CEO and Chief Financial Officer),
and Marko Werner (Chief Sales and Marketing Officer).
About SMA
The SMA Group generated sales of EUR 1.9 billion in 2010 and is the
worldwide market leader for photovoltaic inverters, a key component of all
solar power plants. It is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany,
and is represented on four continents by 17 foreign companies. In 2010, the
Group employed a staff of over 5,000 (incl. temporary employees). SMA's
product portfolio includes the most comprehensive range of inverters on the
market, offering a compatible inverter for every module type and for all
plant sizes. The product range covers both inverters for photovoltaic
plants connected to the grid as well as inverters for off-grid systems.
Since 2008, the Group's parent company SMA Solar Technology AG has been
listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (S92) and also
in the TecDAX index. In recent years, SMA has received numerous awards for
its excellence as an employer and lately reached first place in the federal
'Great Place to Work' competition.
SMA Solar Technology AG
Sonnenallee 1
34266 Niestetal
Germany
Press contact:
Wolfram Eberhardt
Vice President Corporate Communications
Phone +49 561 9522-11 25
Fax +49 561 9522-11 03
Wolfram.Eberhardt@SMA.de
Susanne Henkel
Press Officer
Phone +49 561 9522-11 24
Fax +49 561 9522-11 03
Susanne. Henkel@SMA.de
Investor Relations:
Stephanie Kniep
Director Investor Relations
Phone +49 561 9522-22 22
Fax +49 561 9522-22 23
ir@SMA.de
Julia Damm
Investor Relations Officer
Phone +49 561 9522-11 64
Disclaimer:
This press release serves only as information and does not constitute an
offer or invitation to subscribe for, acquire, hold or sell any securities
of SMA Solar Technology AG (the 'Company') or any present or future
subsidiary of the Company (together with the Company, the 'SMA Group') nor
should it form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any
contract to purchase or subscribe for any securities in the Company or any
member of the SMA Group or commitment whatsoever. Securities may not be
offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration or an
exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as
amended.
This press release can contain future-oriented statements. Future-oriented
statements are statements which do not describe facts of the past. They
also include statements about our assumptions and expectations. These
statements are based on plans, estimations and forecasts which the
executive board of SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA or company) has available
at this time. Future-oriented statements are therefore only valid on the
day on which they are made. Future-oriented statements by nature contain
risks and elements of uncertainty. Various known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors can lead to considerable differences
between the actual results, the financial position, the development or the
performance of the corporation and the estimates given here. These factors
include those which SMA has discussed in published reports. These reports
are available on the SMA website at www.SMA.de. The company accepts no
obligation whatsoever to update these future-oriented statements or to
adjust them to future events or developments.
End of Corporate News
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17.05.2011 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
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Language: English
Company: SMA Solar Technology AG
Sonnenallee 1
34266 Niestetal
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)561 / 9522 - 0
Fax: +49 (0)561 / 9522 - 100
E-mail: info@sma.de
Internet: http://www.sma.de
ISIN: DE000A0DJ6J9
WKN: A0DJ6J
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard);
Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, München, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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125076 17.05.2011
DGAP-News: SMA Solar Technology AG: Pierre-Pascal Urbon to take over as SMA Chief Executive Officer
| Source: EQS Group AG