Axcelis Appoints Veteran Telecommunications Industry Executive to Board of Directors; Former MCI...

Business/Technology Editors

BEVERLY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 2002

Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACLS) today announced the election of H. Brian Thompson to its board of directors. Thompson currently heads Universal Telecommunications, Inc., a private investment

and advisory firm. He previously served as Chairman and CEO of Global Telesystems, Inc. and of LCI International until its sale to Qwest Communications International, where he became Vice Chairman after the merger. Earlier, he was Executive Vice President of MCI Communications through its growth years in the 80's. Mr. Thompson also serves on the boards of Bell Canada, DynCorp, ICL PLC, Williams Communications Group, and ArrayComm.

Commenting on the board addition, Axcelis' Chairman, Stephen R. Hardis stated, "Thompson's leadership skills, and experience as a customer of our customers will be invaluable as Axcelis continues to remain at the forefront of enabling technologies. We are pleased to have someone of Brian's caliber come on board."

Thompson has more than 40 years of managerial experience in high technology as well as the consulting industry. Mr. Thompson received his Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering from The University of Massachusetts, and his MBA from Harvard.

About Axcelis Technologies, Inc.

Axcelis Technologies, Inc., headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts, provides innovative, high-productivity solutions for the semiconductor industry. Axcelis is dedicated to developing enabling process applications through the design, manufacture and complete life cycle support of ion implantation, rapid thermal processing, and cleaning and curing systems. Axcelis Technologies has key technology centers in Beverly, Massachusetts, and Rockville, Maryland as well as in Toyo, Japan through its joint venture, SEN. The company's Internet address is: www.axcelis.com.