New heads at Xantrex

Following problems at Xantrex Technology Inc. with its UL listing for certain on-grid inverter models (see article, p. 30), the Canada-based manufacturer of power electronic and control products has hired Tim Attridge as vice president and chief marketing officer. 

Attridge, whose appointment was announced in late March, spent 14 years in senior sales and marketing roles with the computer manufacturer Hewlett Packard Co., including serving as their worldwide general manager for small and medium business customers. He will be based at Xantrex's head office in Burnaby, British Columbia.

In April, Xantrex also hired the German Andreas Vondung as managing director for its European subsidiary, Xantrex Technology Inc. of Barcelona, Spain. His main work will likely involve coordination of Xantrex plans to try for a share of the booming business in on-grid inverters in Europe during the second half of 2002. Vondung, who was previously the head of international sales for renewable energies at Alstom Ballard GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany, follows his former boss Bernd Kohlstruck, who left his post as managing director at Alstom Ballard to accept a position as vice president for the distributed power market with Xantrex last October.

In the last few months Xantrex had changed nearly the complete top tiers. The latest new entry joining the company prior to Vondung and Attridge was Greg Brown, who was appointed president and COO in January (see PI 3/2002, p. 37).

William P. Hirshman, Michael Schmela
© PHOTON International,May 2002