TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- First Solar Inc., nation's largest solar panel maker, on Thursday named Robert Gillette CEO, succeeding Mike Ahearn.
For the past four-and-a-half years, Gillette served as CEO of Honeywell Aerospace, a unit of Honeywell International Inc.
Gillette begins his new post as CEO and member of the board of directors Oct. 1. Ahearn will continue to serve full-time as executive chairman.
Shares of First Solar rose $1.42, or 1.2 percent, to $119.80 in midday trading.