People Update

12/01/1996

Dennis A. Peasenell has been elected chairman and CEO of GMT Microelectronics Corp., Norristown, PA. Prior to joining GMT, Peasenell was executive VP of operations at Unitrode Corp., and held various senior management positions at Signetics Corp. (now Philips Semiconductor).

Novellus Systems Inc., San Jose, CA, has named Robert H. Smith executive VP and CFO. Smith has more than 33 years of experience in corporate finance, including executive positions at Honeywell, Memorex Corp., Control Data Corp., and R.R. Donnelly & Sons Co. He succeeds William J. Wall, who retires December 31.

Ion Systems, Berkeley, CA, has promoted Roger Kray to VP of finance and administration. He joined Ion in 1992 as controller, and before that, was plant accounting manager at Antron Electronics. In addition, David Dove has been named director of North American sales. Dove has worked in the semiconductor industry since 1968, most recently as sales manager for Dryden Engineering.

Robert J. Hannemann has been named president of Lasertron, Bedford, MA, a subsidiary of Oak Industries Inc. Hannemann has 25 years of experience, most recently as GM at Digital`s Printing Systems business.

Litton Industries Inc., Woodland Hills, CA, has promoted James D. Benham to president of Litton`s Electron Devices division. Benham was division VP for business development and marketing. Before joining Litton, he was president and GM of Intevac Industries, and held several positions with Varian Associates` Electro-Optical Sensors division. He succeeds John F. Middaugh, who will be technical advisor to the Election Devices division.

Applied Materials Inc., Santa Clara, CA, has promoted Yoichi Akasaka to president and CEO of Applied Materials Japan (AMJ). Akasaka was senior VP of Japan product operations at AMJ, and VP of Applied Materials Inc. Prior to joining the company, he spent 22 years at Mitsubishi. He succeeds Keisuke Yawata, who retires in January 1997.

Alphatec Group, Santa Clara, CA, has named Neil Dial president of Alphatec II, a division of Alphatec Electronics Public Co. Ltd. in Thailand. Dial has 15 years of technology experience, most recently as director of final manufacturing operations at Motorola`s Memory and Microprocessors Technology Group.

KLA Instruments Corp., San Jose, CA, has appointed Lance A. Glasser VP of Advanced Programs for the Reticle and Photomask Inspection Division (RAPID). Before joining KLA, Glasser was the director of the Electronics Technology Office at the Defense Advanced Research Program Agency (DARPA).

Fusion Systems Corp., Rockville, MD, has promoted several executives to positions in its subsidiaries. Leo Goddard has been appointed president of Fusion Europe Ltd. He was previously managing director. Kevin Kinam Choi has been named president of Fusion Pacific, which he founded. Before joining Fusion, he was VP of KC Tech Co. Ltd. Mark Melton has been promoted to VP and controller of Fusion Semiconductor Systems. He had been director of accounting for the subsidiary.

Forward Technology Industries Inc., Minneapolis, MN, has appointed Wayne L. Mouser VP in charge of precision cleaning systems. Mouser has over 25 years of experience in the cleaning industry, most recently as VP of Baron Blakeslee. In addition, John Bloomgren has been promoted to VP of manufacturing. He has served Forward for 5 years, most recently as VP of precision cleaning.

George Harding has been promoted to industrial market segment manager at Leybold Vacuum Products Inc., Export, PA. He was most recently account manager for Applied Materials. During the past nine years, Harding has served the company as product manager, order services manager, and market segment manager.

Clestra Cleanroom Inc., Syracuse, NY, has named Skip King director of manufacturing. He has more than 15 years of manufacturing experience, most recently as a consultant with the Project Development Group.

SEMI, Santa Clara, CA, honored a number of semiconductor industry leaders with the SEMI Award for North America. Kenneth Levy, chairman, CEO, and cofounder of KLA Instruments, received the SEMI Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his leadership role in the industry for more than 25 years; Richard Brewer, founder and president of Advanced Chemical Systems International, received the SEMI Award in the materials category for his role in commercialization of the first integrated circuit in 1964; and John Bruning, president of Tropel Corp., Robert Akins, president of Cymer Laser Technologies, Chris Sparkes, director of lithography at Integrated Solutions Inc., and Larry Thompson, VP of R & D at Integrated Solutions, received the SEMI Award in the equipment category for developing and introducing deep-UV lithography technology.