January 4, 2005 – Credence Systems Corp. has announced the appointment of John C. Batty as senior VP of finance and CFO, effective immediately. He will report to Credence’s president and CEO, David A. Ranhoff, and assume direct responsibility for all activities related to finance, accounting, investor relations, information technology, and facilities.

Batty will work closely with Credence’s former CFO, John R. Detwiler, who will remain with the company through a transition period.

With more than 20 years of experience, Batty has an extensive background in financial and corporate management. Prior to joining Credence, he served as CFO, secretary and COO during his five-year tenure at Network Equipment Technologies. Prior to that, Batty served as VP of finance and CFO at Verilink Corp., treasurer and site controller at Philips Semiconductor, and financial controller at Intel Corp.