MILPITAS, CA--(Marketwired - May 18, 2016) - Solexel, a leading manufacturer of high-performance crystalline-silicon solar modules, today announced that Matt Lugar has joined the company as vice president of sales and business development. Lugar will be responsible for driving Solexel's push into the commercial and industrial (C&I) market and establishing new sales channels and strategic relationships for Solexel in both North America and around the world.
"Matt Lugar is an experienced leader who has been instrumental in building some of the most exciting projects in the solar industry," said Mark Kerstens, chief sales and marketing officer and acting CFO. "Solexel is growing quickly as we start bringing our breakthrough solar power products to market and Matt's deep industry relationships and understanding of global solar markets will be a major asset for us."
Lugar brings over 20 years of direct solar photovoltaic (PV) industry experience to his new position at Solexel. After realizing the tremendous market potential for PV early in his career, he has lead sales activities at venture backed solar technology startups and also helped build a new solar technology group at a global corporation. Prior to Solexel, Lugar was VP of sales and business development at Sunverge and VP of global sales and marketing at QBotix. He has also held executive sales roles in the commercial sector at Stellar Energy and Tioga Energy and was the director of sales for the solar energy solutions group at Sharp.
"What I see in Solexel is the first exciting PV innovation in years," said Lugar. "By bringing high efficiency PV technology down to the cell level and developing new lightweight, extremely easy to install modules, Solexel's products shorten labor time, helping drive down PV's levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and significantly reduce installer labor costs while also improving customers' return on investment. I'm excited to be part of a highly experienced team bringing to market completely new types of PV products that will change the game for solar installers, roofers, and C&I solar customers."
About Solexel
Solexel, a venture-backed solar cell and module manufacturer based in Milpitas, California, holds the world-record efficiency for a production-format crystalline-silicon solar cell. Solexel's solar modules include integrated smart electronics that enhance real-world performance by reducing the negative impact of shading, soiling and snow cover. The modules are also lightweight, enabling installation on weight-constrained residential and commercial rooftops, and reducing the cost of the balance-of-system, such as mounting or installation labor. Investors in Solexel include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Technology Partners, DAG Ventures, Northgate Capital, GSV Capital Corp. (