MILPITAS, Calif., April 16, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Credence Systems
Corporation (Nasdaq: CMOS) a leading provider of test solutions from design to
production for the worldwide semiconductor industry, today announced the
appointment of Joy E. Leo as senior vice president of finance and chief
financial officer, effective upon the filing of the company's quarterly report
on Form 10-Q, anticipated on or about June 8, 2007. In her new role, Leo will
report to Credence's president and chief executive officer, Lavi Lev, and
assume direct responsibility for all activities related to the chief financial
officer function. John Batty, who has served as chief financial officer since
December 2004, will remain at Credence through Leo's effective date and work
closely with her to assist with a smooth transition.
"Joy's strong leadership and industry experience, as well her corporate
finance and management acumen, make her an excellent choice to be Credence's
new CFO," said Lev. "With her demonstrated track record of growing successful
high technology companies, driving operational efficiencies, and building
shareholder value, Joy will be a valuable addition to Credence as we position
the company to achieve sustained profitability. We are very pleased to have
her join the Credence management team."
Leo has more than twenty-five years of financial and corporate management
experience with leading electronics companies. Prior to joining Credence, Leo
was vice president of finance and administration, chief financial officer and
secretary for Artisan Components, Inc., now known as ARM Holdings PLC. During
her tenure at Artisan, she successfully guided the company to year-over-year
net income growth and significantly improved operational efficiency. Leo also
served as vice president of finance and administration and chief financial
officer for IMP, Inc.; vice president of finance, operations and
administration at Innomedia Incorporated; and, vice president and chief
financial officer for Philips Components, a multi-billion dollar division of
Royal Philips Electronics N.V. Leo holds a bachelor's degree in business
administration and finance from the University of Utah.
"We appreciate John Batty's leadership and his many important
contributions to Credence," Lavi said. "We wish him well as he transitions
from Credence to pursue other opportunities."
Credence also announced the grant of an employment inducement stock option
award to Leo on April 16, 2007. Leo may purchase up to 250,000 shares of the
Company's common stock at an exercise price of $3.47 per share pursuant to an
inducement stock option. The shares subject to the stock option vest over a
four-year period.
About Credence
Credence Systems Corporation is a leading provider of debug,
characterization and ATE solutions for the global semiconductor industry. With
a commitment to applying innovative technology to lower the cost-of-test,
Credence delivers competitive cost and performance advantages to integrated
device manufacturers (IDMs), wafer foundries, outsource assembly and test
(OSAT) suppliers and fabless chip companies worldwide. A global, ISO
9001-certified company, Credence is headquartered in Milpitas, California.
More information is available at http://www.credence.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains statements that are forward-looking within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section
21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements
regarding the filing of the Company's 10-Q on or about June 8, 2007, Mr. Batty
remaining as CFO and working closely with Ms. Leo until the filing of the
Company's 10-Q, Ms. Leo being a valuable addition to the Company, and the
positioning of the Company to achieve sustained profitability. These forward-
looking statements involve important factors that could cause our actual
results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.
Such important factors involve risks and uncertainties including, but not
limited to, the delay in filing or failure to file our 10-Q on a timely basis
as anticipated, the volatility of the trading price of our stock, the
introduction of new product features including new instruments, the
completion, delivery and acceptance by customers of such new product features,
the need to focus on different aspects of our business to improve stockholder
value, unanticipated challenges in assessing business conditions and the
overall market, unanticipated difficulties in implementing improvements to our
business model, cyclicality and downturns in the semiconductor industry, rapid
technological change in the automatic test equipment market, the timing of new
technology, product introductions, customer requirements relating to the
customization of products, the risk of a loss or reduction of orders from one
or more customers among which our business is concentrated, fluctuation in
customer demand, timing and volume of orders and shipments, competition and
pricing pressures, reliability and quality issues, our ability to complete the
development and commercialization of our new products, product mix, overhead
absorption, continued dependence on "turns" orders to achieve revenue
objectives, intellectual property issues, the risk of early obsolescence, our
ability to control and reduce expenses (including the ability to identify and
successfully institute additional cost-saving measures) and our need to
achieve and maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting.
Reference is made to the discussion of risk factors detailed in our filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our reports on Form
10-K and 10-Q. All projections in this release are based on limited
information currently available to us, which is subject to change. Although
any such projections and the factors influencing them will likely change, we
will not necessarily update the information, since we are only to provide
guidance at certain points during the year. Actual events or results could
differ materially and no reader of this release should assume later in the
quarter that the information provided today is still valid. Such information
speaks only as of the date of this release.
NOTE: Credence is a registered trademark, and Credence Systems is a
trademark of Credence Systems Corporation. Other trademarks that may be
mentioned in this release are the intellectual property of their respective
owners.
Company Contact:
Uma Subramaniam
Sr. Director, Corporate Communications
Credence Systems Corporation
Phone: 408-635-4889
Fax: 408-635-4986
E-mail: uma_subramaniam@credence.com
SOURCE Credence Systems Corporation
