Michael J. Ahearn is currently the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman at
First Solar, Inc.
He has served with First Solar since August 2000. Since 1996, he has been Partner and President of the equity investment firm, JWMA (formerly True North Partners, L.L.C.), the majority stockholder of First Solar. Prior to joining JWMA, Mr. Ahearn practiced law as a partner in the firm of Gallagher & Kennedy.
He also serves on the board of Arizona Technology Enterprises, LLC (AzTE). He received both a B.A. in Finance and a J.D. from Arizona State University.
At the UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland, in December 2008, he joined
Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech's Chairman and CEO,
Jeremy Leggett, Executive Chairman of Solarcentury and Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director in proposing rapid implementation and expansion of policies designed to support the growth of the solar industry and the global adoption of solar technology as a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction in support of global climate goals.
During the climate change meeting, Mr. Ahearn said: "The photovoltaic industry is much closer to generating affordable solar power than most people realize. In the last 4 years, First Solar has lowered the cost of manufacturing our modules by two-thirds and the company is now the world's largest manufacturer of thin firm photovoltaic solar modules. Led by California and New Jersey, over half of the states in the U.S. have adopted renewable portfolio standards, which together with favorable tax incentives and other policies, has emerged as an important driver in increasing solar power generation."
