Passages

I was very saddened to hear Pascal Didier, Cymer had recently lost his long struggle to overcome a serious illness.

I met Pascal maybe 5 or 6 times. Pascal had one of the driest wits out of any tech executive I know. I still remember our first meeting some years ago when Pascal asked me if I could cut Cymer's AeA dues in half, as I sputtered for a few moments, Pascal finally told me to calm down and he was just kidding. Pascal had a unique ability to put people at ease, his dry wit, vision and his ability to get right to the point made him an invaluable asset to Cymer.

IMOP, Cymer has one of the top management teams in town, Bob Akins is well known in the community and guides Cymer with a steady hand, I once joked to Bob that the cyclical nature of the semiconductor business must lead him to have a manic depressive mindset. Bob and his team has been able to 'even' out the cycles. In the semiconductor bust a few years ago, one would have thought that a company like Cymer would have been decimated, instead Cymer concentrated on R&D, and preserving their very technical workforce they had worked so hard to develop. Cymer has managed the boom/bust cycle incredibly well and probably does not get enough credit for this. Pascal was part of this and will be missed.

Pascal's passing will be missed not only by Cymer but the entire technology community.