Singapore-headquartered solar manufacturer Maxeon will appoint George Guo, formerly of TCL Communication Technology, as its new CEO.
Its current CEO, Bill Mulligan, will retire from the role at the end of January 2025.
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Guo’s former company, TCL Communication Technology, is a subsidiary of Chinese tech manufacturing giant TCL Group, which also owns Maxeon’s largest shareholder, TCL Zhonghuan Renewable Energy Technology Co. Ltd. The latter invested almost US$200 million into Maxeon earlier this year to support its continuing operations after poor financial results.
Mulligan spoke to PV Tech Premium about the investment in June, where he described it as a “backstop” and said the company was “feeling a lot more optimistic now”.
Since then, Maxeon has had a turbulent time. The Nasdaq stock exchange moved to delist the company last month as a result of low stock prices, which Maxeon appealed against. This followed consecutive loss-making quarters for the company; Q2 2024 saw losses of US$7.8 million and falling module shipments; Q1 saw greater losses of US$14.9 million after the company delayed its financial reporting.
Maxeon has also filed several technology patent lawsuits against other solar manufacturers in the US and Europe. When we spoke with Mulligan in June, he said, “It’s cheating when you copy other people’s technology,” and said he felt its patents had been infringed for both back contact and tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar technology.
Guo, Maxeon’s incoming CEO, said: “I am excited to join Maxeon at this inflection point for the company and the industry.
“There is tremendous opportunity…even as many companies including Maxeon are challenged to overcome near-term pressure on revenue and profitability.
“Our advantages include world-leading technology…a deep patent portfolio, and key strategic partnerships.
By improving our efficiency, reducing costs, and providing an optimal combination of performance, reliability, and value in our solar products, I intend for Maxeon to be the partner of choice for solar solutions going forward and come through this current downturn in a strong position.”
