James McNicholas joined Nanosolar from Hitachi Global Storage
Technologies where he was the top finance executive of the $5 billion
hard disk drive business. Prior to Hitachi, McNicholas held a
distinguished succession of financial positions at IBM over a period of
22 years, including serving as the top finance executive of four IBM
business units. For the IBM PC company’s manufacturing &
development operations, McNicholas managed the worldwide financial
operations of 12 manufacturing plants and two labs. As the controller
of IBM’s Consumer Division, McNicholas redirected business from the
retail channel to direct fulfillment. In 1999, McNicholas was called
upon to become the top finance executive of IBM's Storage Systems
Division where he established best-of-breed global operational
management for 13 manufacturing facilities and four R&D facilities
worldwide. McNicholas holds an M.S. degree in Management from Stanford
University and a B.S.in Finance from Drexel University, and also served
on the board of directors of Hitachi's storage companies in China and
the Philippines.
