Danbury-based FuelCell Energy has replaced Michael Bishop, its chief financial officer since 2011, with a former finance executive from water technology company Xylem Inc. in South Windsor.
FuelCell’s board appointed Matthew Latino, 41, as executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer, effective Wednesday, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Bishop’s tenure as CFO ended Tuesday. He will stay on for six months as a senior adviser to CEO Jason Few, through April 6, 2027, at his annual base salary of $461,591.
The filing does not say why Bishop is leaving, but the board deemed his exit a termination without cause, which triggers severance benefits under his employment agreement.
When his advisory role ends, Bishop will receive a year of base salary, or $461,591, paid out over 12 months. He will also get accelerated vesting of 68,518 restricted stock units, a prorated share of his performance stock units based on actual results, eligibility for his fiscal 2026 incentive bonus and up to 12 months of paid COBRA health coverage.
The benefits are contingent on Bishop signing a release of claims and abiding by his noncompete and confidentiality agreements.
Bishop joined FuelCell in 2003 as assistant controller and rose through the company’s accounting ranks before being promoted to CFO.
Latino most recently served, from November 2025 to June 2026, as senior vice president of finance and segment CFO for Xylem’s measurement and control solutions business. He joined Xylem in 2012 and held a series of finance roles there, including vice president of investor relations. He began his career as an auditor at Deloitte & Touche.
The leadership change comes as FuelCell retools its business around demand for on-site power from data centers. The company’s sales pipeline grew to about 10 gigawatts in its fiscal third quarter, and it landed its first data center power deals, HBJ reported last month.
FuelCell is also expanding its Torrington manufacturing plant to 500 megawatts of annual production capacity, a project it estimates will cost $200 million to $275 million.
The company posted a third-quarter net loss of $45.3 million on revenue of $33 million, down 29% from a year earlier. Its fiscal year ends Oct. 31.
