International SEMATECH Names Schmitz Chief Operating Officer-Manufacturing Operations and Technology.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2002

John Schmitz of Philips Semiconductors has been named Vice President and Chief Operating Officer-Manufacturing Operations & Technology of International SEMATECH (ISMT), the global semiconductor manufacturing research consortium, effective April 1, 2002.

Schmitz will be responsible for overseeing the operations and strategy of the Manufacturing Methods and Productivity Division, Manufacturing Enabling Technologies (ManfET, formerly ESH/Metrology/Yield Management Tools) Division, as well as the Advanced Technology Development Facility (ATDF), ISMT's 200mm/300mm wafer fab. The position will parallel the COO-Advanced Technology role filled recently by Betsy Weitzman of Motorola who is responsible for the Lithography, Front End Processes, and Interconnect Divisions.

"John's experience in semiconductor manufacturing makes him an ideal candidate for this position," said Bob Helms, ISMT's president and CEO. "Splitting the COO position into two areas of focus will allow John and Betsy to directly apply their expertise, providing more focused leadership in an increasingly complex industry for the continued success of the consortium."

Schmitz served as vice president and general manager of MOS4YOU in the Netherlands, Philips Semiconductors' advanced development and manufacturing unit for embedded non-volatile memories. Schmitz joins International SEMATECH as an assignee from Philips, replacing Rinn Cleavelin, ISMT's current COO, who will complete his assignment from Texas Instruments in the next few months.

"John brings to International SEMATECH extensive experience in fab operations and technology development," stated Cleavelin. "His experience and background is well suited to continue the molding of the ATDF into a world-class development facility and to provide the technical expertise and management skills to drive the strategic direction of the MM&P and ManfET Divisions."

Schmitz joined Philips Research Labs in 1984 where he worked on various interconnect systems for advanced integrated circuits. Then he served several years with an equipment company as a director of process development. Schmitz worked for two years in the joint ST-Philips development center in Crolles, France, in the development and manufacturing of planarization techniques and dielectric materials as a group leader. He holds a master's degree in Chemistry from the University of Nijmegen, Netherlands, and a doctorate in Mathematics and Physics from Catholic University Nijmegen. Over his career, he has published many scientific papers and a book on IC technology and holds a number of patents. He served for several years on the executive committee of the Advanced Metallization and Interconnect Systems for ULSI Applications Conference.

"I'm very proud to become the first non-US member of the executive management team of International SEMATECH," said Schmitz. "It truly reflects the international character of this consortium. I'm convinced that with my background I can contribute to International SEMATECH to achieve our objectives in the most efficient and effective way. I can't wait to attack the challenges which are ahead of us and work together with the talented International SEMATECH employees and all other stakeholders."

International SEMATECH (ISMT) is a global semiconductor technology development consortium that has effectively represented the semiconductor manufacturing industry on innovation issues since 1988; its members are Agere Systems, AMD, Conexant, Hewlett-Packard, Hynix, IBM, Infineon, Intel, Motorola, Philips, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and TSMC. ISMT conducts state-of-the-art research and development, and is a highly regarded technology partner whose mission is to promote the interests common to all chipmakers. It has extensive experience collaborating with equipment and materials suppliers, as well as government and academic research centers, to refine the tools and technology necessary to produce future generations of chips. Additional information may be found at www.sematech.org.