SAN DIEGO--- Young K. Sohn and Edward H. Braun Join Cymer's Board of Directors
Cymer Inc. (Nasdaq:CYMI), the world's leading supplier of excimer light sources used in semiconductor manufacturing, today announced that Young K. Sohn, 46, and Edward H. Braun, 63, have joined the company's board of directors and that Richard P. Abraham retired from the board, effective today.
The board has also been expanded from seven to eight members.
Young K. Sohn has served as president and chief executive officer of Oak Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: OAKT) since joining the company in 1999, and has served as its chairman since 2001. Oak Technology is a leading provider of embedded chipsets for the digital imaging, optical storage and home entertainment markets. From 1993 to 1999, Sohn was with Quantum Corp., serving most recently as president of the Hard Disk Drive Group. Prior to that, he spent 10 years at Intel Corp., holding a succession of management positions that included director of worldwide channel marketing, and manager of the PC Chipset business unit. Other boards on which he currently serves include those of U.S.-based firms Synnex Information Technologies Inc., and PLX Technology Inc. Sohn holds a master's degree in business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management, and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
Edward H. Braun has served as chairman, president and chief executive officer of Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO) since 1990. Veeco provides metrology and process equipment systems for industry leaders in the semiconductor, data storage, telecom/wireless and scientific/research markets. In 1990, Braun led the company through a management-buy-out from its predecessor company (now Lambda Electronics Inc.). He joined the predecessor company in 1966, and held a variety of positions over the years, including executive vice president and chief operating officer, vice president and general manager, director of operations, and director of marketing. He is a current director and past chairman of the board of Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), and serves on the Executive Advisory Council of International Disk Drive Equipment and Materials Association (IDEMA). Braun earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Clarkson College of Technology in 1961. He completed Stanford University's Executive Program for Management of High Technology Companies in 1980.
Bob Akins, Cymer's chairman and chief executive officer, commented, "We are very pleased to have two technology business leaders of this caliber join Cymer's board of directors. Young Sohn is guiding Oak Technology into the business of high value-added advanced chips. As a leader in this area, he brings to the board a clear vision of the future of advanced chip and advanced appliance technology. Ed Braun, during his tenure, has grown Veeco Instruments from a semiconductor equipment supplier with $30 million in revenue in 1994, to a diversified supplier of a broad line of equipment to the data storage, telecom/wireless, scientific research, and semiconductor industries with $299 million in revenue in 2002. We believe we can gain significant benefit from his successful experience in diversifying and growing his company."
Akins continued, "Dick Abraham has served as a member of our board of directors since 1987. As Cymer has grown over the years, Dick has provided valuable knowledge and leadership vital to our success. We sincerely appreciate his dedicated service and significant contributions over the years, and wish him well upon his retirement from the Cymer board."
About Cymer
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 exacting 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, on the Internet at www.cymer.com or by contacting the company directly.