Cymer Names Pascal Didier President and COO
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Holtaway's Role Expanded, Four Current VPs Join Executive Management Team In Response to
Company Growth
SAN DIEGO, May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Robert Akins, co-founder and CEO of Cymer, Inc. (Nasdaq: CYMI), today
announced that he has promoted Senior Vice President Pascal Didier to the position of president and chief operating officer
(COO). In his new role, Didier will assume responsibility for Cymer's day-to-day operations, enabling Akins, as chairman and
CEO, to focus on continuing to drive the company's ongoing growth and success, as well as its future strategic direction.
Akins also announced that Ted Holtaway, senior vice president of process quality, will assume an operational role as well under
the title of senior vice president of operations and business process management, and that the company's executive management
team has been expanded with the addition of four of Cymer's current vice presidents. The announced changes are effective
immediately.
Akins commented, "Poised as Cymer is for particularly rapid growth in the latter half of this year, this natural management
transition comes at an auspicious time for the company. Cymer has achieved significant size in a relatively short time, and we
have reached the point where strategic planning for the future of the company and its technology, and the day-to-day execution
of that plan are both, at least, full-time jobs. These strategic enhancements to the management team, planned and under
consideration for some time, will allow me to sharpen my focus on maintaining a clearer strategic vision of the best and most
profitable direction for Cymer moving forward. Our industry is characterized by increasing globalization, rapid change and
dramatic technological advances. Cymer is leveraging the high caliber of management talent available to us to enhance the
company's ability to respond to changing market needs dynamically, and with agility."
Akins went on to say that the management transition is the culmination of a two-year strategic effort launched to create and
develop the management, operational and technology infrastructure needed to support Cymer's aggressive growth campaign.
"Pascal has a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of our industry, and vast expertise in international customer operations, sales
and marketing. He has played a key role in strengthening our customer relationships, building our global customer service and
support organization, and helping design, plan and drive the company's strategic programs. His close relationship with our
customers and intimate understanding of their needs and requirements will insure that our commitment to providing excellence to
our customers will continue to be an integral part of our day-to-day business. Overall, Pascal's promotion and our other
management enhancements should allow us to move forward to maximize both customer and shareholder value."
Didier has served as senior vice president, worldwide customer operations since November 1997. From July 1997 to
November 1997 he served as vice president of sales and marketing. Prior to that, from June 1995 to June 1997, Didier was
vice president of worldwide sales and field operations and from June 1995 to June 1996 was vice president of Asia/Pacific
with GaSonics International, a semiconductor capital equipment manufacturer. From June 1993 to June 1995, he served as
vice president of international operations for Megatest Corporation, a semiconductor test equipment manufacturer. Didier, 41,
has a bachelor's degree in business and administration from the College de Paris VII and a bachelor's degree in electronics
from the Institut Universitaire de Lyon.
Ted Holtaway, senior vice president of operations and business process management, joined Cymer in April of 1998 as vice
president of process quality, and was promoted to senior vice president in July of 1998. In his new role, he will assist Didier in
running the company's day-to-day operations, while continuing to re-engineer Cymer as a process-driven enterprise. Prior to
joining Cymer, Holtaway spent 13 years developing processes for San Diego-based Brooktree Corporation, a fabless
semiconductor company acquired by Rockwell Semiconductor Systems in September of 1996. During his tenure, Holtaway's
executive posts included: vice president of corporate quality from 1989 to 1995; vice president and managing director of
Brooktree's Singapore operations from 1995 to 1996; and most recently, director of Rockwell's San Diego operations from
1997 to 1998. Holtaway, 45, holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, a
master's degree in electrical engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of New York, and a master's degree in business
administration from San Diego State University.
Rounding out and further strengthening the company's executive management team, four of the company's current vice
presidents have been appointed to Cymer's executive committee, bringing total committee membership to nine. The new
members are David S. Knowles, Ph.D., vice president of product development, David W. Myers, vice president of technology
development, William N. Partlo, Ph.D., vice president of research, and John Shin, vice president of worldwide customer
operations.
Akins concluded, "The four vice presidents appointed to the executive team will help drive the technology creation,
development and commercialization processes across Cymer's multiple product families and research and development at all
four wavelengths. Their combined efforts will allow Cymer to help customers keep pace with emerging industry requirements
by speeding time-to-market of next-generation products and technologies."
The statement in this press release concerning Cymer's growth in the latter half of this year is a forward-looking statement
based on current information and expectations and involves a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results and events may
differ materially from those projected in such statement due to various factors, including but not limited to: delays or
cancellations by customers of their orders; the timing of customer orders, shipments and acceptances; failure by the company to
manage its expense levels and unanticipated expenses; the rate at which semiconductor manufacturers take delivery of
photolithography tools from the company's customers; the demand for semiconductors in general, and, in particular, for
leading-edge devices with smaller geometries; and new and enhanced product offerings by competitors. For more information
concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to the Company's Form 10-K, Forms 10-Q and other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings can be accessed over the internet at sec.gov .
Cymer, Inc. is the world's leading supplier of excimer laser illumination sources, the essential light source for deep ultraviolet
(DUV) photolithography systems. DUV lithography is a key enabling technology, which has allowed the semiconductor
industry to meet the exact specifications and manufacturing requirements for volume production of today's advanced
semiconductor chips. Further information on Cymer may be obtained from the Company's SEC filings, the Internet at
cymer.com or by contacting the company directly. |
