Thomson Reuters presents notes, highlights, and a transcript of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)’s Analyst Meeting, which was held on March 19th, 2014.
David Brady – First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), Inc. – VP, Treasury and IR
Okay. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)’s analyst day. I am David Brady, Vice President of Treasury and Investor Relations. And just a few housekeeping items before we begin. This event is being webcast live, and the presentations will be available at FirstSolar.com at 4 PM today. Please review the Safe Harbor statement on your handout with respect to the forward-looking statements presented today.
There are two Q&A sessions today, so please reserve your questions until then. And we ask that you please turn the ringers off on your phones now.
And with that, we’ll kick things off with our First Solar corporate video followed by opening remarks from our Chief Executive Officer, Jim Hughes.
Jim Hughes – First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), Inc. – CEO
Last year at this gathering, I indicated that while we wouldn’t necessarily do it every year, we would bring everybody together. And we thought we had a collection of new information and new thoughts that were worthy of everybody’s time. As we approached the first anniversary of last year’s meeting, we kind of felt like we had a fairly solid collection of information that would be useful, so we thought it was appropriate to hold another meeting.
So we have a lot of ground to cover today. Relatively long day. We’ll move rather quickly. We will also provide time to answer the questions that I’m sure many of you will have. Last year, I spoke to this group about the need to transition the business model of the organization and the culture of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) to adjust to the emerging realities and opportunities of the industry. And I described some of the steps that we were taking in that regard. That process has continued and the capabilities of the organization continue to evolve.
This year, I was fortunate to add a number of key executives to the management team — was able to add Joe Kishkill, who joins us as First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)’s Chief Commercial Officer. You’ll hear from Joe later today. Joe and I have a very long history working together, dating back to the mid-1990s.
Most recently Joe was part of the senior management team at Exterran [Resources]. Exterran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EXH) is a participant in the compression segment of the oil and gas industry. He spent a decade with Exterran before joining us. Initially headed their Latin American operations. Went on to head their Eastern Hemisphere operations, giving him a truly global experience base and skill set. Exterran is a manufacturer, EPC contractor, contract service provider, and project developer in a brutally competitive global industry. It sounds kind of familiar. So we believe that he brings a lot of directly relevant experience to the Company.
Joe has come up to speed quickly, and I’m excited to have him on First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)’s board. As Chief Commercial Officer, he is responsible for our origination and our utility scale business, including component systems, O&M services, and project development. He’s immediately developed a strong working relationship with Mark and Georges and the rest of the senior management team, and it’s a privilege for me to work with that entire team. It’s a very strong group of individuals.
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