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KLA-Tencor Taps Industry Veteran Motohiko Tahara To Heads Its Japanese Operation
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SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 20, 2002-Continuing its history of strong executive leadership at the helm of its Japanese subsidiary, KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) today appointed Motohiko Tahara, a 30-year semiconductor industry veteran, president of KLA-Tencor Japan. Tahara joins KLA-Tencor from Cymer, Inc., an industry-leading supplier of state-of-the-art excimer light sources for today's advanced photolithography equipment, where he served as president of Cymer's Japanese operations. KLA-Tencor reports that Tahara is taking over for its former president of Japanese operations, Russell Weiss, who will be returning to the United States to help guide KLA-Tencor's global operations from its corporate headquarters in San Jose, Calif.

"Japan is a very important market to KLA-Tencor, both as a key center of semiconductor innovation and as an early adopter of next-generation integrated circuit (IC) technologies--especially for today's most demanding consumer electronic applications," stated Ken Schroeder, CEO of KLA-Tencor. "Tahara-san's extensive industry knowledge, combined with key customer relationships developed over the past three decades, will be a tremendous asset as we partner with our Japanese customers to help them accelerate the development and ramp of next-generation semiconductor technologies."

"In this capital-intensive business, missing your market entry point by only a few months due to yield problems can cost chipmakers millions of dollars--not to mention their competitive edge in the fast-paced consumer electronics arena," stated Tahara. "For more than a quarter of a century, KLA-Tencor has been in the business of helping Japanese chip manufacturers maximize their return on investment (ROI) by speeding their time to market on next-generation chips. To extend this strategic charter, my number one priority will be to ensure that our customers here have ready access to robust, comprehensive process control solutions and industry-leading yield management expertise."

Prior to serving for two years as president of Cymer Japan, Inc., Tahara spent more than nine years in various senior management roles within Applied Materials and its affiliates AKT, Inc. and Applied Komatsu Technology. Earlier in his career, he spent 24 years in various senior management positions with leading semiconductor companies, including Sumitomo Corporation. Tahara holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Osaka University of Japan.

About KLA-Tencor: KLA-Tencor is the world leader in yield management and process control solutions for semiconductor manufacturing and related industries. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with operations around the world, KLA-Tencor ranked #6 on S&P's 2002 index of the top 500 companies in the U.S. KLA-Tencor is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol KLAC.

Contact:
Meggan Powers
Director Corporate Communications

 

 

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