SEMICON EUROPA 2006, MUNICH, Germany, April 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Synova, the world pioneer in water jet-guided laser technology, today announced the appointment of the first executive management team to provide corporate guidance in direct response to the company's ongoing success and expanded customer base. Effective immediately, the company has selected Quoc Phong Dang as chief financial officer (CFO); Frank Meier to the position of vice president, operations; Dr. Martin Achtenhagen as vice president, research and development (R&D); and Phil Durrant to the position of vice president, sales and marketing. Reporting directly to Synova's president and chief executive officer (CEO), Dr. Bernold Richerzhagen, the company's new executive team will be responsible for growing Synova's business and executing on its corporate strategy across the company's comprehensive network of global subsidiaries.

"It is with great pleasure that I welcome these outstanding individuals to our team, as I am confident their backgrounds and superior management expertise will enable us to achieve new levels of performance during this time of exponential growth for the company," said Dr. Richerzhagen. "Today's announcement marks a significant milestone for Synova, as it affirms immediate company growth in direct response to the increasing industry demand for best- of-breed water jet-guided solutions."

With more than ten years of corporate finance experience in valuation and business planning, Dang will be responsible for overseeing daily financial operations in addition to strategic planning in his new role as CFO. Prior to joining Synova, he served as a senior consultant at Ernst & Young, where he was responsible for transaction advisory services on the Corporate Valuation Team. Prior to this role, he was with Peters Associates AG as an associate within the Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory and Automotive/Engineering Teams. Dang holds a master's degree in business administration with an emphasis in banking, finance and marketing from the University of Mannheim, Germany.

As the newly appointed vice president of operations, Meier is chartered with spearheading an aggressive and controlled production ramp-up, implementing structures and processes when necessary, in addition to managing supplier partnerships and overall cost control. His previous experience includes serving as the supply chain strategy and development manager within Hewlett-Packard's Global Operations and IT, Supply Chain Integrated Solutions team since 2002, where he was responsible for developing services, managing virtual teams and driving the company's efforts to achieve multi-million-dollar savings and new opportunity evaluations on a consistent basis. This experience was preceded by another role at Hewlett-Packard, during which he was a procurement manager within the e-Supply Chain Solutions and Services sector. Meier holds a microelectronics engineer diploma, a post- graduate degree in information technology and a master's in logistics from the Swiss Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne.

Based on his profound knowledge in laser simulation, industrial standards and proven ability to lead R&D teams, Achtenhagen is now responsible for leading Synova's R&D team, while ensuring the R&D activities coincide with the business plan deliverables. His new position will also require him to work in tandem with the sales, marketing and operations teams. Prior to joining Synova, Achtenhagen was a senior research associate at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, during which time he researched long-wavelength vertical-cavity surface emitting lasers and developed characterization methods and simulation tools. Between 1996 and 2004, Achtenhagen was technical manager at JDS Uniphase Corp., where he led a research group developing next-generation optical amplifiers. Achtenhagen holds a master's degree in physics from the University of Freiburg, Germany, and a doctorate in physics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne.

A multifunctional director with over 14 years experience in engineering, sales and marketing, and company management with a technical background in RF components, applications and modules, Durrant joins the executive team as the vice president of sales and marketing. He most recently held the position of sales and marketing director at components manufacturer SAW Components Dresden GmbH, where he was responsible for converting a wafer foundry company into an RF components supplier. Prior to this activity, Durrant was technical marketing manager and general manager at Temex SA, France. In his new role, he will lead Synova's brand imaging and positioning strategies in addition to the sales and marketing teams, and will directly manage relationships with associated decision makers and customers. Durrant holds a master's degree in HNC electrical and electronic engineering from the Lincoln College of Technology, U.K.

Synova will be exhibiting at SEMICON Europa, April 4-6, 2006, at the Munich Messe, Munich. Editors are invited to visit Synova's booth located at # A3-628, or contact blee@mcapr.com to set up briefings with a Synova executive during the show.

About Synova

Founded in 1997, Synova is a leading supplier of state-of-the-art laser solutions for the semiconductor, electronics, flat panel display (FPD) and industrial micro-machining industries, among others. As the inventor of laser dicing technology, Synova -- through its proprietary Laser MicroJet(R) (water jet-guided laser) technology -- is fast emerging as the ideal provider for addressing the exacting manufacturing specifications and low cost-of-ownership (CoO) requirements associated with the volume production of today's advanced electronic devices. Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, Synova is a privately held company with subsidiaries located in Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan and the United States. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at: http://www.synova.ch/

NOTE: Laser MicroJet is a registered trademark of Synova.

CONTACT: Delphine Perrottet of Synova SA, +41-21-6943500, or fax,
+41-21-6943501, or perrottet@synova.ch; or Brandy L. Lee of MCA, Inc.,
+1-650-968-8900, or fax, +1-650-968-8990, or blee@mcapr.com, for Synova SA

Web site: http://www.synova.ch/