Leadership

Sean Hunkler has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer, as well as a member of our Board of Directors, since September 2021. Prior to FTC Solar, he was with Western Digital since August of 2018, most recently serving as the Executive Vice President of Global Operations, and having previously served as the Senior Vice President, Global Operations, and as the Senior Vice President, Manufacturing Operations. Prior to that, Sean served as chief operating officer of Nexperia Semiconductors, a global semiconductor manufacturer created after its divestiture from NXP Semiconductors, from February 2017 to August 2018. From July 2012 to February 2017, he served as executive vice president, global operations of NXP Semiconductors, a global semiconductor manufacturer. Mr. Hunkler also served in senior leadership roles at Freescale Semiconductor, Motorola and SunEdison (formerly MEMC Electronic Materials). He holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from The John Hopkins University.

Patrick M. Cook has served as the Chief Commercial Officer since April 2022, overseeing sales, sales engineering, legal and capital markets activities. Prior to this role he served as Chief Financial officer since July 2019. Prior to FTC Solar, Patrick worked in the corporate finance division of Dot Foods. From 2011 to 2017, he held multiple positions at SunEdison, including Vice President of Capital Markets and Corporate Finance, and Treasurer of the Solar Energy Business Division. From 2006 to 2011, he was in several leadership roles within Bank of America’s Structured Finance division, including Vice President of Structured Finance. Patrick holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and quantitative methods from Bradley University.

Morris has more than 20 years of experience in global finance operations including treasury, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, risk management and investor relations. Prior to FTC he most recently served as Senior Vice President and Treasurer of TrueBlue, a company with $2.2 billion in revenue, responsible for strategy and execution of treasury and finance related functions. He was previously with SunEdison (formerly MEMC Electronic Materials) from 2009-2016, where he served in multiple roles, including leading the treasury and investor relations functions. Earlier in his career, he served in multiple finance roles for The Dow Chemical Company as well as roles with Duff and Phelps Credit Rating Co. and Skudder Kemper Investments. Morris is a Certified Financial Analyst charterholder and holds an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Nagendra Cherukupalli is passionate about solving real-world problems that can make a meaningful difference. Trained as a computer science professional, Nagendra has worked in software, semiconductors, solar and energy platforms. He has served as Chief Technology Officer at Enernet, a microgrid company, and Chief Technology Officer at LinkBee, an IoT company, as well as Vice President & Chief Technology Officer at SunEdison, the world's largest renewable energy company. Nagendra holds a Master’s and Ph.D., degrees in Computer Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology and attended the Executive Program at Stanford.

JuneAn Lanigan has over 30 years of experience in successfully implementing business and IT strategies and solutions aligned to business goals. Prior to joining FTC Solar in April 2022, she was with Western Digital since 2014 and lead the integration of three Fortune 500 companies by deploying enterprise data management innovative automation and analytics solutions globally. She also spearheaded the strategy planning and execution of next generation technologies to enable the workforce and workplace of the future. JuneAn has received multiple industry awards as a recognized leader for Women in Technology and has held senior leadership positions at IBM, Siemens, Cisco, Intuit, Sun Microsystems/Oracle, and Juniper Networks. JuneAn holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Psychology from Southern Vermont College.

Sasan Aminpour has over 28 years of experience - including 10 years in Solar - in operational leadership across US, Europe and Asia. Prior to FTC, he cofounded a solar tracker startup – HX Tracker – which was acquired by FTC Solar in 2022. He was previously the SVP of operations at SunEdison, and prior to that the SVP of operations at Cypress Semiconductor, and a senior consultant with McKinsey & Company. Earlier in his career he worked in production & project management roles in Honda, Caterpillar and GE. Sasan holds a BSc in Industrial Engineering from Boğaziçi University in Istanbul & MSc in Computer Integrated Engineering from Middlesex University in London.

Giselle Phan has over 25 years of experience in all aspects of human resources. Prior to joining FTC Solar in November 2021, she was with Western Digital since May 2016, most recently serving as the Vice President of HR for Global Operations and APAC HR Delivery for over 60,000 employees. She also served as VP of People Communications & Global Giving, Head of Diversity & Inclusion, and Chief of Staff to the CHRO. Prior to Western Digital, she held a variety of leadership positions at SanDisk Corporation, including HRBP for Global Commercial Sales, HRBP for the Embedded and Mobile BU, and Head of Global Enterprise Talent Acquisition and Development.  With a reputation as a strong advocate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Giselle joined FTC Solar charged with building up our HR practices and further enhancing our culture as we continue to grow the company.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Community Studies with an emphasis on Communications and Broadcast Journalism from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Jacob Wolf is an experienced corporate attorney, with particular expertise in the renewable energy sector. He has worked on many of the world’s largest and most sophisticated renewable energy transactions, spanning M&A, project finance, tax equity, joint ventures and other corporate matters. Prior to becoming our General Counsel, Jacob practiced with the New York and DC offices of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Georgetown University.

Cathy Behnen has over 20 years of financial leadership experience translating business issues into improved processes and profitability. She has five years of experience in the solar industry as Head of Global Audit and Vice President of Business Operations at SunEdison. Previously Cathy was a partner at RubinBrown LLP. Cathy has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and earned her Master of Business Administration. She is a Certified Public Accountant.