WASHINGTON (Feb. 17, 2009) - The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) announces today that Deloitte CEO Jim Quigley, FirstSolar CEO Michael Ahearn, and Dallas-based lawyer Paul Stafford have joined its Board of Trustees. Each Trustee is appointed for a four-year term.

"Jim, Mike, and Paul will provide GMF with continued solid footing in the current economic situation and help GMF develop its programs, partnerships, and alumni relations for years to come," said GMF President Craig Kennedy.

Jim Quigley is Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (Deloitte). Prior to his current role, Quigley was the CEO of Deloitte United States. Throughout his 34 years with the organization, he has taken on a number of leadership roles and built a distinguished track record of audit and advisory service to many multinational clients from a range of industries. Quigley is U.S. co-chairman of the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) and a member of the board of trustees of the U.S. Council for International Business (USCIB). He is also a member of the Council on Competitiveness, and served on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting (CIFiR).  Quigley is also involved in various business and community groups in the United States, including the board of trustees of Catalyst, the Financial Accounting Foundation, Japan Society, and Economic Club of New York.  His memberships include the Business Roundtable and the National Advisory Committee - Brigham Young University.

Michael J. Ahearn has served as the CEO and Chairman of First Solar since August 2000. He served as President of First Solar from August 2000 to March 2007. Since 1996, he has been Partner and President of the equity investment firm, JWMA (formerly True North Partners, L.L.C.), the majority stockholder of First Solar. Prior to joining JWMA, Ahearn practiced law as a partner in the firm of Gallagher & Kennedy. He received both a B.A. in Finance and a J.D. from Arizona State University.

Paul K. Stafford is the proprietor of The Stafford Law Firm, a litigation firm in Dallas, Texas, focusing on the areas of commercial, business, and insurance litigation.  Previously, he practiced at Amis & Bell in Arlington, Texas before joining Werstein, Smith & Wilson in January 2002.  Stafford then became Senior Trial Attorney in the Dallas office of Hughes & Luce LLP (now Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP). Between 1994 and 1998, Stafford served first as an Assistant District Attorney in Denton County, Texas, followed by service as an Assistant District Attorney in Dallas County, Texas.  Stafford is an active member of the Dallas Bar Association ("DBA"), serving as the Chair of the DBA's Board of Directors in 2008, and currently serving as the DBA's Second Vice President. Stafford is an Adjunct Professor at Texas Tech University School of Law. He is active in the North Texas community, serving on a variety of boards and commissions in the area. Stafford serves on the Board of Directors of Camp John Marc: Special Camps for Special Kids.  Stafford is also a 2003 American Marshall Memorial Fellow.

The German Marshall Fund of the United States is a nonpartisan American public policy and grantmaking institution dedicated to promoting greater cooperation and understanding between North America and Europe. GMF does this by supporting individuals and institutions working on transatlantic issues, by convening leaders to discuss the most pressing transatlantic themes, and by examining ways in which transatlantic cooperation can address a variety of global policy challenges. In addition, GMF supports a number of initiatives to strengthen democracies. Founded in 1972 through a gift from Germany on the 25th anniversary of the Marshall Plan as a permanent memorial to Marshall Plan assistance, GMF maintains a strong presence on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition to its headquarters in Washington, DC, GMF has seven offices in Europe: Berlin, Bratislava, Paris, Brussels, Belgrade, Ankara, and Bucharest.

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