Spansion announced that it has further strengthened its core management team with the appointment of 15-year semiconductor industry veteran John Kispert as chief executive officer and member of the board of directors, effective today.

Kispert, former president and COO of KLA-Tencor, brings significant operational and financial experience to Spansion. As CEO, Kispert expects to intensify Spansion's strategic and restructuring initiatives to build value for the company's stakeholders, leveraging the company's leadership in the Flash memory industry.

"As the new CEO, in addition to the strategic and restructuring initiatives, I plan to create a winning strategy for the company that leverages Spansion's market leadership, rich intellectual property portfolio, and strong customer relationships," said Kispert. "My first priority is to ensure that Spansion capitalizes on the company's tremendous strengths to bring value to our stakeholders."

On January 15, 2009, Spansion announced it was exploring strategic alternatives for a sale or merger. The company also announced plans to restructure its balance sheet. The objective of the potential strategic alternatives is to build on Spansion's position as a leading supplier of NOR Flash memory by creating significantly greater scale, and to provide Spansion's customers with a broader range of more cost-effective memory solutions.

Kispert's appointment at Spansion follows the resignation of president and CEO Bertrand Cambou.

"We are delighted that John has joined Spansion and we are particularly pleased that the board of directors was able to make this appointment so swiftly following Bertrand's resignation," said Boaz Eitan, Spansion interim president. "John is renowned in the semiconductor industry as an experienced, strategic leader with significant financial and operational acumen. I look forward to working closely with him during the transition to accelerate Spansion's strategic and restructuring initiatives."

Prior to joining Spansion, Kispert served as the president and COO of KLA-Tencor Corp., a leading semiconductor equipment company. During his 13 years with KLA-Tencor, Kispert held a variety of operations- and finance-related positions, including chief financial officer. At KLA-Tencor, Kispert played an instrumental role in several of the company's most critical initiatives, including operational and organizational restructuring following the 1997 merger between KLA Instruments and Tencor Instruments.

Before joining KLA-Tencor in 1995, Kispert held several senior management positions with IBM. He received his bachelor's degree in political science from Grinnell College and his MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles.