James A. Hughes joined First Solar in March 2012 as Chief Commercial Officer and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in May 2012. Prior to joining First Solar, Mr. Hughes served, from October 2007 until April 2011, as Chief Executive Officer and Director of AEI Services LLC, which owned and operated power distribution, power generation (both thermal and renewable), natural gas transportation and services, and natural gas distribution businesses in emerging markets worldwide. From 2004 to 2007, he engaged in principal investing with a privately held company based in Houston, Texas that focused on micro-cap investments in North American distressed manufacturing assets. Previously, he served, from 2002 until March 2004, as President and Chief Operating Officer of Prisma Energy International, which was formed out of former Enron interests in international electric and natural gas utilities. Prior to that role, Mr. Hughes spent almost a decade with Enron Corporation in positions that included President and Chief Operating Officer of Enron Global Assets, President and Chief Operating Officer of Enron Asia, Pacific Africa and China and as Assistant General Counsel of Enron International. Mr. Hughes is a Non-Executive Director of APR Energy plc, a London Stock Exchange-listed energy company participating in the global market for gas and diesel fired temporary power plants.

Mr. Hughes holds a juris doctor degree from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, a Certificate of Completion in international business law from Queen Mary’s College, University of London, and a bachelor's degree in business administration from Southern Methodist University.

Mark Widmar joined First Solar in April 2011 as the company's Chief Financial Officer. In this role he oversees all financial operations, including Financial Planning & Analysis, Treasury, Internal Audit, Investor Relations, Accounting, and Tax.

Prior to joining First Solar, Mr. Widmar was the Chief Financial Officer for Graftech International, and was also President of Graftech's Engineering Solutions business.

From 2005 to 2006 Mr. Widmar served as Corporate Controller for NCR Inc. Prior to his appointment to Controller, he was a Business Unit Chief Financial Officer for NCR, with responsibility for setting the financial vision and strategy for a $2 billion global enterprise. In this position Mr. Widmar was instrumental in the establishment of strategic plans, annual operating plans, and pricing strategy.

Mr. Widmar has also held various financial and managerial positions with Dell, Inc., Lucent Technologies, Inc., AlliedSignal, Inc., and Bristol Myers/Squibb, Inc. He began his career in 1987 as an accountant with Ernst & Young.

He holds a Bachelor of Science and a Masters of Business Administration from Indiana University.

Georges Antoun joined First Solar in July 2012 as the company’s Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Antoun has over 20 years of operational and technical experience, including leadership positions at several global technology companies. Mr. Antoun most recently served as Venture Partner at Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), a private equity and venture firm that he joined in July 2011. Prior to joining TCV, Mr. Antoun was the Head of Product Area IP & Broadband Networks for Ericsson, based in San Jose, California. Mr. Antoun joined Ericsson in 2007, when Ericsson acquired Redback Networks, a telecommunications equipment company, where Mr. Antoun served as the Senior Vice President of World Wide Sales & Operations. After the acquisition, Mr. Antoun was promoted to Chief Executive Officer of the Redback Networks subsidiary. Prior to Redback Networks, Mr. Antoun spent five years at Cisco Systems, where he served as Vice President of Worldwide Systems Engineering and Field Marketing, Vice President of Worldwide Optical Operations, and Vice President of Carrier Sales. He has also held senior management positions at Newbridge Networks, a data and voice networking company, and Nynex (now Verizon Communications), where he was part of its Science and Technology Division.

Mr. Antoun earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a Master’s degree in Information Systems Engineering from Polytechnic Institute of New York University.

Carol Campbell joined First Solar in March 2006 as Director of Human Resources and was named Vice President of Human Resources in March 2007. She became the Company’s Executive Vice President of Human Resources in November 2009. Prior to joining First Solar, she was the Regional Director of Human Resources for North America at the Dana Corporation, where she was responsible for all Dana plants in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Ms. Campbell was with Dana for 20 years, progressing through levels of greater responsibility in the Legal and Human Resource Departments. She has her Professional Human Resources certification through the Society of Human Resources Management and has extensive experience successfully developing and running highly effective HR organizations in complex and rapidly changing environments. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Heidelberg College with a B.S. degree in Business.

Mary Beth Gustafsson joined First Solar in October 2008 as Vice President, General Counsel. She was named Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in November 2009. Ms. Gustafsson was previously Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Trane (formerly American Standard Companies, Inc.). Prior to that, she held roles as Chief Counsel of Trane's commercial and residential air conditioning systems business worldwide and Chief Corporate Counsel for corporate legal activities, including acquisitions, joint ventures and alliances, financing transactions, corporate governance and public company regulation. Mary Beth has a bachelor's degree in English Literature from Boston University, and a Juris Doctor degree from The University of Michigan Law School.

Raffi Garabedian joined First Solar in 2008 as Director of Disruptive Technologies, and was promoted to Vice President of Advanced Technologies in 2010, overseeing the Company's advanced research and development operations in Santa Clara, California, and was promoted to Chief Technology Officer in May 2012. Prior to joining First Solar, he was founder and CEO of Touchdown Technologies, a semiconductor test equipment company. Prior to that, Mr. Garabedian worked in the semiconductor and microelectromechanical systems industries for over 15 years, developing new products ranging from automotive sensors to telecommunications switching systems, and holds more than 20 issued patents in these fields. Mr. Garabedian earned a BSEE degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic University and an MSEE degree from the University of California at Davis.

Chairman of the Board

Michael J. Ahearn serves as chairman of the board of directors of First Solar. Mr. Ahearn served as chief executive officer from August 2000 to September 2009, executive chairman from October 2009 to December 2010, and interim chief executive officer from October 2011 to May 2012. Mr. Ahearn is currently Chairman and Managing Partner of True North Venture Partners, L.P., a venture capital firm he launched in 2011 to invest primarily in early stage companies in the energy, water, agriculture and waste sectors. Prior to First Solar, he was partner and president of an equity investment firm, JWMA (formerly True North Partners, L.L.C.). Prior to joining JWMA, Mr. Ahearn practiced law as a partner in the firm of Gallagher & Kennedy. Mr. Ahearn currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Cox Enterprises, Inc.; a member of the Board of Trustees of Thunderbird School of Global Management; a member of the Board of Trustees of The German Marshall Fund; a member of the Board of Directors of Endeavor Global, Inc.; a member of the Global Advisory Board of Beijing Climate Policy Initiative; and a member of the Advisory Board of BDT Capital Partners. Mr. Ahearn holds a B.A. in Finance and a J.D. from Arizona State University. During his original nine-year tenure as chief executive officer of First Solar, Mr. Ahearn led the development and expansion of First Solar from a small privately-held company to a successful multinational industry-leading public company; his experience and insights are critical assets to the board of directors.

Richard Chapman was elected a director of First Solar in May 2012. He serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Walton Enterprises, Inc., where he has worked since 1983. In this capacity, Mr. Chapman oversees all aspects of the Walton Family Office in Arkansas. Mr. Chapman currently serves on the boards of directors of the Arvest Bank Group, the holding company for a diversified financial services company; the University of Arkansas Foundation Board, where he serves on the Executive and Finance Committees; the Razorback Foundation, where he is a member of the Investment Committee; and the Fayetteville Campus Foundation of the University of Arkansas. Mr. Chapman also serves on the boards of directors of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, where he sits on the Executive and Investment Committees; and the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. Mr. Chapman was previously a member of the Board of Managers of First Solar Holdings, LLC prior to the Company going public and JWMA (formerly True North Partners, L.L.C.), an equity investment firm. Prior to joining Walton Enterprises, Mr. Chapman worked from 1976-1983 in London, England and Little Rock, Arkansas, for the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers. A Certified Public Accountant (inactive), Mr. Chapman holds a B.S.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Arkansas.

George Hambro was elected a director of First Solar in May 2012. He previously held various positions at First Solar from June 2001 through June 2009, including serving as Chief Operating Officer from February 2005 through May 2007. Prior to joining First Solar, he held the positions of Vice President of Engineering & Business Development for Goodrich Aerospace from May 1999 to June 2001 and Vice President of Operations for ITT Industries from February 1997 to May 1999. For the last five years, Mr. Hambro has been a director of both the Toledo Zoo, and Imagination Station, Toledo’s children’s science museum. Mr. Hambro currently serves on the board of directors of Soladigm, Inc., a developer of next-generation green building solutions designed to improve energy efficiency. Mr. Hambro graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a B.A. in Physical Science (Applied Physics).

James A. Hughes was elected a director of First Solar in August 2012. He joined First Solar in March 2012 as Chief Commercial Officer and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in May 2012. Prior to joining First Solar, Mr. Hughes served, from October 2007 until April 2011, as Chief Executive Officer and Director of AEI Services LLC, which owned and operated power distribution, power generation (both thermal and renewable), natural gas transportation and services, and natural gas distribution businesses in emerging markets worldwide. From 2004 to 2007, he engaged in principal investing with a privately held company based in Houston, Texas that focused on micro-cap investments in North American distressed manufacturing assets. Previously, he served, from 2002 until March 2004, as President and Chief Operating Officer of Prisma Energy International, which was formed out of former Enron interests in international electric and natural gas utilities. Prior to that role, Mr. Hughes spent almost a decade with Enron Corporation in positions that included President and Chief Operating Officer of Enron Global Assets, President and Chief Operating Officer of Enron Asia, Pacific Africa and China and as Assistant General Counsel of Enron International. Mr. Hughes is a Non-Executive Director of APR Energy plc, a London Stock Exchange-listed energy company participating in the global market for gas and diesel fired temporary power plants.

Mr. Hughes holds a juris doctor degree from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, a Certificate of Completion in international business law from Queen Mary’s College, University of London, and a bachelor's degree in business administration from Southern Methodist University.

Craig Kennedy, Audit Committee; Project Development Risk Committee, was elected a director of First Solar in September 2007. Since 1995, Mr. Kennedy has been president of the German Marshall Fund, an independent American organization created in 1972 as a permanent memorial to the Marshall Plan. The German Marshall Fund sponsors a wide range of programs related to foreign, economic, immigration and environmental policy, and it operates a number of political exchanges between the United States and Europe with a special emphasis on Germany. Mr. Kennedy began his career in 1980 as a program officer at the Joyce Foundation in Chicago. Mr. Kennedy was president of the Joyce Foundation between 1986 and 1992, where he built the Foundation’s environmental program and launched a new program on U.S. immigration policy. Mr. Kennedy left the Joyce Foundation to work for Richard J. Dennis, a Chicago investor and philanthropist. During this same period, Mr. Kennedy created a consulting firm working with nonprofit and public sector clients. Mr. Kennedy serves on the board of the nonprofit Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, the Rocky Mountain Institute and the European Foundation Center. Mr. Kennedy is audit committee chair of the Invesco Van Kampen Closed-End-Funds. Mr. Kennedy holds a B.A., an M.A. and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Mr. Kennedy’s deep public policy experience and global perspective are valuable resources to the Company, as our business is impacted by public policy issues on a global scale.

James F. Nolan was elected a director of First Solar in February 2003. Mr. Nolan served as the vice president of operations with Solar Cells, Inc., the predecessor to First Solar, and was responsible for research, development and manufacturing operations. He designed and built early prototype equipment for First Solar’s pilot manufacturing line and led the team that developed the process for producing large area thin film cadmium telluride solar modules. Mr. Nolan worked as a part-time consultant for First Solar from November 2000 until March 2007. Mr. Nolan has over 35 years of experience in physics, engineering, research and development, manufacturing and process design with companies such as Westinghouse, Owens Illinois, Glasstech and Photonics Systems. Mr. Nolan holds more than 10 patents in areas of flat panel electronic displays and photovoltaic devices and processes. Mr. Nolan earned his B.S. in Physics from the University of Scranton (Pennsylvania) and a PhD in Physics from the University of Pittsburgh. Mr. Nolan provides the board with extensive experience in engineering, research and development and manufacturing and process design, obtained through his work at the predecessor to First Solar and other companies throughout his career.

William J Post, Chair, Project Development Risk Committee; Compensation Committee, retired as chairman and chief executive officer of Pinnacle West Capital Corporation in April 2009, and he retired from the board of directors of Pinnacle West in May 2010. He joined Arizona Public Service (the largest subsidiary of Pinnacle West and the largest electric utility in Arizona) in 1973 and held various officer positions at APS beginning in 1982 including: vice president and controller, vice president of finance and regulation, chief operating officer, president and chief executive officer. He became president of Pinnacle West in 1997, chief executive officer in 1999 and chairman of the board in 2001. Mr. Post joined the board of Arizona Public Service in 1995 and the board of Pinnacle West in 1997. Mr. Post is chairman of the board of Swift Transportation Corporation, chairman of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and chairman of the Board of Trustees of Arizona State University, where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1973. He also currently serves on the boards of Translational Genomics Research Institute and the Thunderbird School of International Management, and has served in the past as chairman of Suncor Development Company, Stagg Information Systems, Nuclear Assurance Corporation, Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited, the Institute of Nuclear Power, and El Dorado Investment Company. He also served as a Director of Phelps Dodge Corporation from 2001 to 2007. Mr. Post brings to the board executive-level utility-sector experience, including a deep understanding of such sector within the southwestern United States, a core target market for the Company’s expanding systems business.

J. Thomas Presby, Chair, Audit Committee; Nominating & Governance Committee; Project Development Risk Committee, was elected a director of First Solar in August 2006. Mr. Presby retired in 2002 from a 30-year career with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. At Deloitte, Mr. Presby held numerous positions in the United States and abroad, including the posts of deputy chairman and chief operating officer. Mr. Presby serves as a director, the audit committee chair and a member of the governance committee of World Fuel Services, Inc. Mr. Presby also serves as a director and the audit committee chair of INVESCO Ltd. and Tiffany & Co., and as a director, audit committee chair and member of the acquisition committee and the corporate governance and nominating committee of Examworks Group, Inc. Mr. Presby has previously served as a director of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., TurboChef Technologies, Inc., PracticeWorks and GreenPoint Financial Corp. Mr. Presby is a Certified Public Accountant and holds an NACD Certificate of Director Education. Mr. Presby holds a BSEE from Rutgers University and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University. Mr. Presby’s experience as an audit committee chair for multiple public companies, together with his 30-year career with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, provide a strong background for his role as chair of the audit committee and the audit committee financial expert.

Paul H. Stebbins, Audit Committee; Compensation Committee; Nominating & Governance Committee; Project Development Risk Committee, was elected a director of First Solar in December 2006. Mr. Stebbins has served as executive chairman of World Fuel since January 2012. Previously, Mr. Stebbins served as the chairman and chief executive officer of World Fuel since July 2002 and has served as a director of World Fuel since June 1995. Between July 2000 and 2002, Mr. Stebbins also served as president and chief operating officer of World Fuel. In 1985, Mr. Stebbins co-founded Trans-Tec Services, a global marine fuel service company acquired by World Fuel in 1995. Mr. Stebbins is a member of the Business Roundtable, an influential association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies. Mr. Stebbins brings to the board significant CEO-level experience in managing a large global energy-related publicly-traded company.

Michael Sweeney, Chair, Compensation Committee; Nominating & Governance Committee, was elected a director of First Solar in July 2003. Mr. Sweeney has served as a director of Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. since April 2011, chairman of the board since July 2011 and president and chief executive officer since October 2011. Mr. Sweeney has served as chairman of the board of Star Tribune Media Holdings, the holding company for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, since September 2009. He also remains a partner in Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison, Inc. (GHJM), a private equity firm. Mr. Sweeney joined GHJM in 2000 and served as that firm’s managing partner from 2001 through 2008. He had previously served as president of Starbucks Coffee Company (UK) Ltd. in London and held various operating management and corporate finance roles. Mr. Sweeney’s background in investment banking and private equity, as well as his operating company business acumen, are valuable resources to the board and the Company, particularly with respect to the board’s consideration of compensation and financial matters and strategic investments.