SMA SOLAR TECHNOLOGY CHANGES BOARD POSITIONS
The Supervisory Board of SMA Solar Technology AG has resolved changes to the SMA Managing Board. Roland Grebe, Board Member for HR, IT and Service Operations is resigning from the Managing Board for personal reasons and leaving the company as of December 31, 2016. The Supervisory Board took note of Grebe’s intention with deep regret, but accepts his decision. Roland Grebe and the Supervisory Board came to a corresponding agreement today. The Supervisory Board has furthermore appointed Ulrich Hadding as Board Member for Finance, HR and Legal effective January 1, 2017. Ulrich Hadding, employed at SMA since 2009, has most recently been in charge of Finance and Legal and as the successor to Roland Grebe will also take on the role of Labor Director. Pierre-Pascal Urbon, in addition to his role as CEO, will concentrate on Sales and Service. In addition, the Supervisory Board and Pierre-Pascal Urbon agreed upon a contract extension by another five years to 2022. Dr. Jürgen Reinert will remain responsible for Development, Operations and the business units.
“We deeply regret Roland Grebe’s decision,” said Dr. Erik Ehrentraut, Chairman of the SMA Supervisory Board. “For over three decades, he has made a crucial contribution to SMA’s global success and shaped its corporate culture in a remarkable way. Under his leadership in Research and Development as well as Human Resources, a wide range of innovations were generated that have significantly accelerated SMA’s success. His departure is a great loss both for the Supervisory and Managing Boards and for the employees. We of course respect his decision and thank Roland Grebe for his many years of dedicated work on the SMA Managing Board. We wish him all the best for his future.” But in equal measure the Supervisory Board is delighted to be bringing another highly qualified SMA manager, Ulrich Hadding, onto the Managing Board. “Ulrich Hadding has worked for SMA since 2009 and has demonstrated his exceptional expertise in various management roles,“ said Ehrentraut. “He has extensive international experience and has had a very trustful working relationship with the Managing Board for many years as Head of Finance and Legal. The new appointment to the Managing Board, the reallocation of responsibilities and the extension of Pierre-Pascal Urbon’s contract all create a high degree of stability. We are firmly convinced that SMA is in an excellent position to successfully defend its market leadership even in a market environment characterized by rapid change and increasing price pressure.”
Roland Grebe (b. 1960) joined SMA in 1984 and worked in various managerial positions in Development and then Human Resources. Among other achievements, he transformed the central inverter area from an individual project processor into a serial manufacturer for power plant technology and grew SMA’s grid integration competencies to secure the future commercial viability of its products. In June 2009, Roland Grebe was appointed to the Managing Board of SMA. From March 2015, he was in charge of Human Resources and IT and served as Labor Director.
Ulrich Hadding (b. 1968) held different positions at the SCHOTT Group in Germany and abroad for ten years, most recently as Head of Legal & Compliance for SCHOTT Solar AG. He moved to SMA in 2009, initially establishing an internationally oriented Legal department and then the Compliance function. He played a major role in nearly all of SMA’s recent M&A activities and successively took on further management functions, e.g., for Tax, Insurance, Controlling and Financial Project Management. Since the end of 2015, he has been Head of Finance and Legal and member of SMA’s Executive Management Committee.
As of January 1, 2017, the Managing Board of SMA Solar Technology AG will comprise the following members: Ulrich Hadding (Board Member for Finance, Human Resources and Legal; contract until 2019), Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Reinert (Deputy CEO, Board Member for Technology and Operations; contract until 2019), Pierre-Pascal Urbon (CEO, Board Member for Sales and Service; contract until 2022).
Source:sma
