Asyst Appoints Paula LuPriore as Chief Operating Officer and Aaron Tachibana as Chief Financial Officer

Asyst Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASYT) today announced that it has named Paula C. LuPriore to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. The company also announced that it has named Aaron Tachibana as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Tachibana was previously Vice President, Finance, and Principal Accounting Officer of Asyst. Last month, the company disclosed that Tachibana would be leaving the company for a new position. However, he and Asyst have mutually agreed that he will remain with Asyst as the company’s Chief Financial Officer. Stephen Schwartz, CEO of Asyst, said, "We are delighted that Paula LuPriore will be taking on the added responsibilities of chief operating officer. As the leader for all of our products, she has helped to integrate our capabilities and people in Japan and the U.S. to achieve profitable customer satisfaction, world-class new products, and increasing market share. In her new role, she will continue to drive these initiatives while working with our global operations organization to reduce costs, streamline business processes, and further enhance our responsiveness to customers.” Schwartz continued, "We also are extremely pleased to have retained Aaron Tachibana. His leadership abilities, financial acumen and deep company experience will be invaluable in his new role as CFO. We are grateful for the support of Richard Janney, who stepped in as interim CFO to bridge an important management transition.” LuPriore, age 51, joined Asyst in 2002 as Vice President and General Manager of Software, and was appointed Senior Vice President, Automation Solutions Group in January 2007 with responsibility for the company's entire product offering and product development programs. Prior to joining Asyst, she held various Vice President positions at IBM, with responsibility for software and hardware engineering, product management and marketing, and professional services, most recently as its Vice President for Storage Networking Products. Ms. LuPriore holds a Bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from the University of Rhode Island. Tachibana, age 47, joined Asyst in June 2004 as a division controller. He served with Asyst as Vice President, Finance, and Principal Accounting Officer from June 2007 to August 2008, Senior Director, FP&A and Operational Finance from January 2005 to June 2007, and Division Controller from June 2004 to January 2005. Prior to joining Asyst, he was Vice President, Corporate Planning & Development of Allied Telesyn, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of TapCast, Inc., and Vice President, Controller of TeraStor Corporation. He also held financial management positions with Maxtor Corporation and was a member of the Financial Management program at the General Electric Company. Mr. Tachibana holds a Bachelor’s degree in business administration-finance, from San Jose State University. About Asyst Asyst Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of integrated automation solutions that enable semiconductor and flat panel display (FPD) manufacturers to increase their manufacturing productivity and protect their investment in materials during the manufacturing process. Encompassing isolation systems, work-in-process materials management, substrate-handling robotics, automated transport and loading systems, and connectivity automation software, Asyst's modular, interoperable solutions allow chip and FPD manufacturers, as well as original equipment manufacturers, to select and employ the value-assured, hands-off manufacturing capabilities that best suit their needs. Asyst's homepage is http://www.asyst.com. Forward Looking Statements Except for statements of historical fact, the statements in this release are forward-looking. The forward-looking statements include statements regarding our future expectations of our management team; and other factors more fully detailed in the company's Annual Report on Forms 10-K and 10-K/A for the year ended March 31, 2008, and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include, but are not limited to: uncertainties whether the results, including our ability to achieve forecasted revenues, margins and profitability; failure to respond to rapid demand shifts; dependence on a few significant customers; the timing and scope of decisions by customers to transition and expand fabrication facilities and investment in fab automation equipment; ability to maintain or expand market share in our product segments; ability to improve gross margins through product cost reduction, volume increases, and supply chain initiatives; continued risks associated with the acceptance of new products and product capabilities; the volatility of semiconductor industry cycles and the depth and duration of industry downturns; the risk that customers will delay, reduce or cancel planned projects or bookings and thus delay the recognition, amount, or timing of our forecasted revenue or bookings; competition in the semiconductor equipment industry and specifically in AMHS; failure to retain and attract key employees; and other factors more fully detailed in the company's Annual Report on Forms 10-K and 10-K/A for the year ended March 31, 2008, and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. "Asyst” is a registered trademark of Asyst Technologies, Inc. Copyright 2008, Asyst Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.