Puma not daunted by executive challenges: Axcelis' new CEO considers managing changes within chief talent - News - Axcelis Technologies CEO Mary Puma

Electronic News, Feb 4, 2002 by Jeff Chappell

It's either an exciting and challenging time to be in the semiconductor business, or a good time to resign and look at the exciting opportunities and stability of used car sales, depending on your point of view.

MaryPuma, who has just taken over the reins of Axcelis Technologies Inc. as CEO from former CEO Brian Bachman, prefers the former view.

Puma, who took over the CEO role just two weeks ago, said she received an e-mail from a fellow semiconductor capital equipment CEO not long after news of her appointment broke. "He said it's a great time to take over now because there is no place to go but up. I hope he's right," Puma quipped.

Puma, who retains her title as president, has ascended from COO to CEO at a pivotal time for Axcelis. Aside from the downturn, Beverly, Mass.-based Axcelis has taken its larger, but neophyte, ion implant competitor, Applied Materials Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., to court in an on-going patent infringement suit.

But Puma isn't daunted by the task. Having been with Axcelis and former parent company Eaton Inc. since 1996, she is familiar with the cyclical vagaries of the industry. Prior to Eaton, she spent 15 years with General Electric Co., assuming her first management position in 1991. When she joined Eaton in 1996, she was general manager of its machine controls division before becoming general manager and VP of the ion implant division in 1998. It was in 1998 that she first learned about the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry.

"That was one of the biggest changes," Puma said of moving from a large, established corporate entity such as GE to a semiconductor tool OEM. "It was much more of a roller-coaster ride," she added. While not difficult to get used to, it was difficult to deal with, she said. But one of the things that GE as a company was good at doing was driving change.

Puma considers driving change one of her strengths as a manager, an ability that lends itself to managing cycles. "All you are really doing is driving change... based on the cycle you either contract or grow," she said. "You are always going up or down, but you are never standing still."

Axcelis is well positioned to come out of this downturn and ramp up tool production, Puma said. Even as revenue dropped, it invested heavily in R&D and, while the company has had to get creative with its cost-cutting efforts, it's retained considerably more employees than it did during the last downturn. When revenues were down some 46 percent, the company cut its headcount by 42 percent. This time around, with revenues down 46 percent yet again, Axcelis managed to limit layoffs to 20 percent of employees.

"I'm not scared. I'm obviously concerned ... I think we are doing the right things based on conditions as they exist today," Puma said.

She doesn't envision any radical changes in Axcelis any time soon. Her predecessor, former CEO Bachman, who originally hired her into Axcelis, left a strong management team as well as a well-positioned company, according to Puma.

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While women may be making inroads into the semiconductor industry in recent years, women in management positions are still relatively rare. "Many times in my career...often times I'm on the only woman in the room," Puma explained.

She acknowledged that, in general, the industry still has along way to go in terms of gender equality in the workplace. But on the other hand, Puma's gender has proved a helpful boost in some ways along her career path. Because they are so rare, women in the semiconductor industry tend to seek each other out and network. And being somewhat of a novelty is not necessarily a hindrance.

"I actually feel pretty good about people knowing me in the industry, right now," Puma said, adding that people tend to remember the name of the only woman in the room. But that's not to say it makes things easier. "(Women) have to work hard to make sure people understand why they are there," she explained. For Puma, that has meant participation in industry groups and executive panels outside of Axcelis.

"There are more women around, but they need to be recognized for their value. It will come with time, but I don't think it's any easier for women," Puma said.