St. Dennis, who announced his intention to resign, will be replaced as senior vice president and general manager of Applied's Silicon Systems group by Randhir Thakur, effective Oct. 2, Applied (Santa Clara, Calif.) said. Thakur previously served as senior vice president and general manager of Applied's Display and SunFab Solar group.

Applied also announced it was combining its crystalline silicon and thin film solar businesses under the leadership of Mark Pinto, the company's chief technology officer. Pinto also assumes the role of senior vice president and general manager of Energy and Environmental Solutions.

Mike Splinter, Applied chairman and CEO, said through a statement that Applied has seen a transformation in its business and the markets it serves over the past years.

"We must further evolve as a company in order to stay at the forefront of the industries where we compete and today's announcement sets us firmly on that path," Splinter said.

Charlie Pappis, a 20-year Applied veteran, will take over as vice president and general manager of the company's services business, Applied Global Services, the company said. Pappis replaces Manfred Kerschbaum, who will become Applied's chief of staff, helping to drive the company's business strategy around the world, Applied said.

Applied announced that Franz Janker has been appointed to the new sales position of executive vice president of corporate account management. The company said it would realign its sales account team structure to embed the sales function into each of its business organizations.

Jim Scholhammer will continue to serve as general manager for Applied's Display group, the company said.

St. Dennis headed the Silicon Systems group, encompassing all Applied's semiconductor equipment products, since its creation in June 2007. Prior to that he was vice president and general manager of the company's Etch, Cleans, Front End and Implant Products groups. St. Dennis previously served in the office of the CEO at Novellus Systems Inc. and was president and CEO of Wind River Systems from 1999 to 2003.