Rick Cassidy Named TSMC North America President; Dr. Edward C. Ross Ap

    Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

    SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 2005--Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE:TSM)(TSE:2330) announced today that Rick Cassidy assumed the role of President, TSMC North America, effective January 1. Mr. Cassidy takes over from Dr. Edward C. Ross, who was named President Emeritus, TSMC North America.
    As president, Mr. Cassidy is responsible for guiding the North America organization, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of TSMC.
    Previously, Mr. Cassidy was executive vice president, office of the president of TSMC North America. He rose to that position from senior vice president of North America Business Operations. He joined TSMC on November 14, 1997 as vice president of Account Management.
    Prior to TSMC, Mr. Cassidy was vice president and general manager of National Semiconductor's Military and Aerospace Division. He joined National in 1979 and held a number of management positions in engineering, manufacturing, marketing and product line management. Before that, Mr. Cassidy was an officer in the U.S. Army. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point.
    "Rick Cassidy is an exemplary leader who possesses a unique blend of technical knowledge, business sense and personal charisma," said Dr. Kenneth Kin, senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing for TSMC. "Rick will undoubtedly do an excellent job of leading TSMC North America through another exciting phase in the company's continued growth."
    "This is a great opportunity to lead a fine company dedicated to the principles of providing industry-leading semiconductor technology, services and capacity to our North America customers, as well as strengthening our relationships with those customers in new and mutually beneficial ways," said Mr. Cassidy. "I am privileged to be a part of this remarkably talented team."
    Dr. Ross assumes the role of President Emeritus, TSMC North America, and will focus on special assignments for TSMC's Operating Committee.
    "I want to extend to Dr. Ross TSMC's heartfelt thanks for his service to the company," said Dr. Kin. "During his tenure, TSMC worked its way through one of the most challenging economic cycles the industry has ever faced, expanding the company's markets and sales, when many other companies could not. This was in no small part due to the extraordinary efforts of Dr. Ross and his team at TSMC North America."
    "I can't tell you how fortunate I feel to have had the opportunity to lead TSMC North America," said Dr. Ross. "It has been a phenomenal ride, and the caliber of personnel we have here leaves me completely confident in their ability to lead the industry well into the foreseeable future. It is a good time to move on."

    About TSMC and TSMC North America

    TSMC is the world's largest dedicated semiconductor foundry, providing the industry's leading process technology and the foundry industry's largest portfolio of process-proven library, IP, design tools and reference flows. The company operates two advanced 300mm wafer fabs, five eight-inch fabs and one six-inch wafer fab. TSMC also has substantial capacity commitments at its wholly-owned subsidiary, WaferTech and TSMC (Shanghai), and its joint venture fab, SSMC. In early 2001, TSMC became the first IC manufacturer to announce a 90-nm technology alignment program with its customers. TSMC's corporate headquarters are in Hsinchu, Taiwan. For more information about TSMC please see http://www.tsmc.com.
    TSMC North America is a TSMC wholly owned subsidiary and is engaged in the sales and marketing of IC foundry.

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CONTACT: TSMC North America Dan Holden, 408-382-7921 dholden@tsmc.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA TAIWAN INTERNATIONAL ASIA PACIFIC INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE SOFTWARE MANUFACTURING MANAGEMENT CHANGES EDA SOURCE: TSMC

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