SOURCE: Xunlight Corporation

 

TOLEDO, OH--(Marketwire - July 28, 2008) - Xunlight Corporation, a leader in the development of low-cost and flexible thin-film silicon solar modules, today announced the appointment of W. Granger Souder, Jr. as its Vice President and General Counsel. Mr. Souder will be responsible for the Company's legal and regulatory affairs including corporate compliance and governance, contract administration, and the legal aspects of joint ventures, strategic partnerships and financing activities.

Mr. Souder is an accomplished, business-oriented legal executive with a broad range of leadership experience in highly regulated complex public company environments. With over 20 years of leadership experience in M&A, change initiatives and strategic planning, Mr. Souder has a demonstrated ability to effectively lead all legal related functions in rapid growth environments.

"As we continue to grow and move towards full scale production, it is critical that our leadership team include an experienced and talented legal executive," said CEO, Dr. Xunming Deng. "Granger has a strong reputation for creative, collaborative leadership in the legal area. We are fortunate to have Granger join our team, and we look forward to leveraging his considerable knowledge, experience and industry contacts as we commercialize the product and grow the business."

Mr. Souder joins Xunlight after a 17 year career with Sky Financial Group, Inc., an $18 billion diversified financial services holding company, where as its Executive Vice President & General Counsel he was responsible for mergers and acquisitions, financing transactions, and overseeing all legal affairs before the company was acquired by Huntington Bancshares in 2007.

Souder is a graduate of Wittenberg University with a degree in Business Administration and has a Juris Doctorate from the University of Toledo, College of Law.

"I am thrilled to join this extremely talented team of engineers, technicians and business professionals, with a product and a company that shows such tremendous promise in the important thin film photovoltaic industry," said Mr. Souder. "As part of this team, I look forward to applying my experience to assist in achieving Xunlight's strategic objectives and capitalizing on the tremendous market opportunity."

Mr. Souder joins Dr. Masat Izu and Mr. Matt Longthorne as the third Vice President hired this year at Xunlight. Dr. Masat Izu, Senior Vice President of Engineering, is a world authority in the photovoltaic industry with over 30 years of experience, and is currently providing key technical leadership for Xunlight's commercial expansion of thin film silicon photovoltaic manufacturing processes and equipment.

Mr. Matt Longthorne, Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategies, and former President of Owens-Illinois's North American Glass Container business, is an accomplished business executive with 20 years of broad business and management experience in the manufacturing industry. He is currently leading all business development and strategy efforts for the Company.

About Xunlight Corporation

Xunlight Corporation, a technology spin-off from the University of Toledo, engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of photovoltaic modules that convert sunlight into electricity. The company develops thin-film silicon based photovoltaic products and manufacturing equipment for high-throughput production of flexible and lightweight photovoltaic modules at low cost. Xunlight recently completed a $22 million Series B financing to build a roll-to-roll full-scale production line. The company also received major R&D funding from the US Department of Energy, US Department of Commerce and Ohio Department of Development to develop its products and manufacturing process. Xunlight was featured in the October 8, 2007 issue of Newsweek magazine and a March 24, 2008 report of CNN News. The company is headquartered in a 122,000 sqft manufacturing facility in Toledo, Ohio. For additional information, visit www.xunlight.com.