Feb 05, 2026 (MarketLine via COMTEX) --
SunPower Inc. announced that it hired Wendell Laidley as CFO, reporting to CEO T.J. Rodgers.
SunPower CEO T.J. Rodgers said, "When our company acquired the SunPower name and assets, I moved our headquarters to Salt Lake City from Silicon Valley despite the fact that miniscule Silicon Valley has produced six of the top 10 S&P 500 companies – due to its entrepreneurial culture and employee stock ownership practices. We moved because of California's high costs and hostile business climate and the fact that Salt Lake is literally "Solar Valley," the heart of the solar industry. So, my ideal CFO candidate had to have a deep understanding of how Silicon Valley works, be willing to move to Salt Lake, and also have significant solar experience. It took a year to find a candidate with that improbable resume."
Rodgers continued, "Wendell Laidley, started his career in San Francisco, in equity research and worked his way up to VP at the Deutsche Bank Technology group run by Silicon Valley's legendary Frank Quattrone – the banker who took my company, Cypress Semiconductor, public. Wendell followed Quattrone's group to Credit Suisse where he was named to the Institutional Investor's All-America Research Team several times during his 1998-2002 tenure. He then became a stock portfolio manager in software for RS Investments, a spinout of San Francisco's Robertson-Stephens Investment Bank – the other bank that took Cypress public. After a detour to found and profitably run Napa's Realm Cellar Winery, he became the VP Finance for AppDynamics, a SaaS company for which he raised $278 million, followed by a similar stint at Big Switch Networks (2016-2018), both of which were acquired. His final Silicon Valley company was Life360, a family-oriented B2C consumer software company that he took public."
Wendell Laidley said, "During my career in Silicon Valley, I always admired SunPower's pioneering role in solar energy under the leadership of founder Dick Swanson and chairman T.J. Rodgers. Now, I am excited at the opportunity to help extend that legacy. In an environment of rapidly rising electricity rates that are escalating to the level of mortgage payments, the compelling benefits of residential solar adoption – both economic and environmental – have become obvious. As SunPower's new CFO, I am committed to building an enduring company that prioritizes quality workmanship and customer satisfaction to ensure that every SunPower system delivers on our promises. I believe the solar industry's lengthy success has just begun because only 7% of American homes have solar, which creates a bright and lengthy solar future. Ultimately, we will help millions of homeowners across the country take the journey to energy independence."
Rodgers continued, "In 2020, Wendell's life changed. He was lured to Salt Lake to become the founding CFO at Lumio, a solar company startup, which grew to $750 million in revenue during his tenure. The good news is that he took a break in Park City, Utah. After very positive interviews with several of our board members and EVPs, I shortened the hiring process by interviewing him at length last Sunday and immediately asking our VP of HR to drive to his house and present the offer that day. Today was Wendell's fourth day at work at our Orem, Utah plant."
Rodgers concluded, "Wendell's first job is to unify the multiple enterprise software instances we've inherited from six companies to speed up our manual financial process. Fortunately, our new CFO has installed new ERP systems multiple times."
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COMTEX_474852653/2227/2026-03-07T21:44:30
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