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SEZ Group appoints industry veteran Yutaka Watanabe new Chief Operating Officer of SEZ Japan
VILLACH, Austria, and ZURICH, Switzerland, Oct. 16, 2006—The SEZ Group (SWX Swiss Exchange: SEZN), the market leader and premier innovator in single-wafer cleaning solutions for the semiconductor industry, today announced the appointment of Yutaka Watanabe as the new chief operating officer (COO) of SEZ Japan, effective immediately. Watanabe succeeds Masaaki Yashiro and assumes the responsibility for increasing customer satisfaction in the overall wet wafer processing market—specifically in the growing cleaning and polymer removing arena. Key to this effort, he is chartered with propelling SEZ’s technical customer support efforts in a move to bolster SEZ’s position as a leading vendor of choice for single-wafer wet processing solutions among today’s top Japanese chipmakers.
“Yutaka’s successful track record for increasing SEZ’s market share and visibility in Japan, coupled with his extensive knowledge of our markets, makes him an ideal fit for the role. Not only is he strategically oriented and operationally savvy, but he also holds close relationships with our key customers in this region, which will be critical for forging even stronger ties moving forward. Moreover, he is extremely committed to continuing the myriad successes achieved by Masaaki,” said Egon Putzi, chairman and chief executive officer for the SEZ Group. “Masaaki offered solid leader leadership strengths and vision during his tenure overseeing the operations at SEZ Japan. We at SEZ thank him for his numerous contributions over the last several years, and wish him the best in his future endeavors,” added Putzi.
A seasoned expert in semiconductor surface-preparation and cleaning technologies, Watanabe most recently served as senior vice president of global marketing for SEZ AG charged with global business development for the SEZ Group. Since joining SEZ in 2001, he has held several roles with increasing responsibility, including general manager of sales and marketing for SEZ Japan. While in this role, he successfully helped position SEZ as a technology leader in the highly competitive Japanese market. Prior to SEZ, Watanabe served as a general manager of one of FSI International, Inc.’s sales divisions. He earned his business administration degree at Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan in 1985.
About SEZ Group
The SEZ Group is the leading provider of single-wafer, wet-processing solutions for the global semiconductor industry, with an installed base of over 900 tools. The company maintains operations in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Japan, and North America. SEZ Holding AG is traded on the SWX Swiss Exchange under the symbol SEZN. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at www.sez.com
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