Dr. Wilhelm Sittenthaler, an Executive Board member of Wacker Chemie AG, is to take over again as President & CEO of Siltronic AG. Sittenthaler will retain his responsibilities on Wacker Chemie AG’s Executive Board. The Munich-based semi¬conductor company announced this decision today. Siltronic AG’s and Wacker Chemie AG’s Supervisory Boards still have to give their approval. Sittenthaler is to succeed Dr. Klaus Fuchs, who asked to be relieved of his duties for personal reasons and will be leaving the company.

Sittenthaler has gained vast experience in the semiconductor sector. From 2003 to 2008, he was in charge of Siltronic, successfully leading it through that period’s global semiconductor market crisis. Dr. Rudolf Staudigl is to take over again as Siltronic AG’s Supervisory Board Chairman additionally to his responsibilities as President & CEO of Wacker Chemie AG.

Dr. Wilhelm Sittenthaler (54) studied chemical engineering at Vienna University of Technology. After gaining his doctorate in technical sciences, he joined Wacker Chemie GmbH in 1980. He held a variety of positions and spent many years in Japan, where he was initially responsible for Regional Marketing & Sales. Later, he became head of the Chemicals division there. In 1996, he was appointed head of the Fluids, Resins and Silanes business unit at Burghausen in Germany. Four years later, in 2000, he joined the Executive Board of Wacker Chemie GmbH. In 2003, he took over as President & CEO of Siltronic AG, a fully-owned subsidiary of Wacker Chemie AG. Since May 2008, Sittenthaler has been a member of Wacker Chemie AG’s Executive Board, where his responsibilities include Human Resources (Personnel Director), R&D, Intellectual Property, Information Technology, the Asia-Pacific and India regions, and the Siltronic business division.

Dr. Klaus Fuchs (51) studied electrical engineering at Trier University and computer science at RWTH Aachen. After earning his PhD in mechanical engineering in 1987, he held several managerial positions in the electronics industry, including Manager Information Technology and Business Automation at ABB, Vice President Electronic Systems at Daimler Benz Aerospace and Technical Director and Member of the Executive Committee at TRW Aeronautical Systems. In 2005, Fuchs was appointed Executive Vice President Operations at semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML Holding N.V., Veldhoven (Netherlands). He became President & CEO of Siltronic AG on January 1, 2009.

Siltronic AG – a subsidiary of Wacker Chemie AG – is a global leader in the market for hyperpure silicon wafers and a partner to many top-tier chip manufacturers. Our production facilities in Europe, the USA, Asia and Japan develop and manufacture wafers with diameters of up to 300 mm.

Silicon wafers form the basis of modern micro and nanoelectronics. They are used, for instance, in computers, cellphones, the internet, DVD players, flat-panel displays, navigation systems, airbags, computer tomography equipment, aircraft control systems and many other applications.