The Auto Channel
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
Official Website of the New Car Buyer

Energy Conversion Devices Appoints Harry W. Zike Vice President and Chief Financial Officer


PHOTO (select to view enlarged photo)

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich., July 29 -- Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) , a leading global manufacturer of thin-film solar products, announced today it has appointed Harry W. Zike as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer effective September 1. Mr. Zike will replace Sanjeev Kumar who has decided to leave the company at the end of August to pursue other opportunities. As CFO, Mr. Zike will be responsible for all aspects of ECD's finance function, including accounting, financial planning and analysis, tax, treasury, audit, and information technology activities of ECD. He will report to Mark Morelli, ECD's President and Chief Executive Officer.

Prior to joining ECD, Mr. Zike served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Director with Siemens VDO Automotive Corporation where he headed the financial and business administration operations of the Americas region. Additionally, he was responsible for corporate governance, shared services, information technology/security, treasury and taxes, risk management, insurance, real estate and facilities, internal audit and procurement, and logistics.

While at Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation, Mr. Zike was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Director. In this role, together with the executive management team, he integrated the acquisition of the approximate $1 billion fossil power generation business of Westinghouse into Siemens and managed a fourfold growth in revenue.

"We are pleased that Harry has made the decision to join the ECD leadership team. He brings broad-based financial and executive leadership experience that will be essential to our ongoing success as we continue to commercialize our technology and accelerate our growth in the rapidly expanding global solar industry," said Mr. Morelli. "With his background in fast growth environments, and with more than 30 years of progressive and international finance experience, Harry is an important addition as we rapidly grow to 1GW of capacity."

"We would also like to acknowledge and thank Sanjeev for his service and commitment to ECD during a period of enormous change and progress," added Mr. Morelli. "During his tenure, we turned the corner operationally and financially, reached profitability, completed a major capital raise, and delivered significant value to shareholders. We appreciate Sanjeev's contributions to ECD's growth and his assistance in transitioning Harry into his new role. We wish Sanjeev well in his future endeavors."

Mr. Morelli added, "We are seeing strong demand for our products in the marketplace and continue to experience positive momentum. We look forward to speaking to investors on our fourth quarter earnings conference call, scheduled for August 28, 2008."

About Energy Conversion Devices

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. manufactures and sells thin-film solar laminates that convert sunlight to energy using proprietary technology. Distributed globally under the UNI-SOLAR(R) brand, the company's products are ideally suited for cost-effective solar roofing solutions because they are lightweight, durable, flexible, can be integrated directly with building materials, and generate more energy in real-world conditions. ECD also pioneers other alternative technologies, including a new type of non-volatile digital memory that is significantly faster and less expensive, and is ideal for a variety of applications including cell phones, digital cameras and personal computers.