The
Arizona
company
said
its
new
chief
commercial
officer,
James
Hughes,
would
assume
the
chief
executive
position,
taking
over
from
co-founder
and
board
chairman
Mike
Ahearn,
who
stepped
in
last
autumn
after
Rob
Gillette's
abrupt
departure.
Hughes,
who
joined
First
Solar
in
March,
has
20
years
of
energy-industry
experience.
He
was
chief
executive
of
international
energy
generation
and
distribution
company
AEI
prior
to
joining
First
Solar.
Hughes
assumes
the
tiller
at
a
difficult
moment
for
First
Solar.
The
company's
first-quarter
sales
were
$497.1m,
down
14%
from
a
year
earlier
on
lower
prices
and…
