VSEA Varian Semiconductor (MM)

Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSEA) today announced that Bob Halliday, the company's Executive Vice President and CFO, has been named by Institutional Investor Magazine as the top performing CFO in the Semiconductor Capital Equipment Industry.

As part of their annual US perception study, Institutional Investor Magazine polled over 1,300 financial professionals to determine the top performing CFOs in the country. In their seventh annual ranking, Halliday was one of 64 CFOs who have distinguished themselves in the last year for exceptional performance. Halliday was featured, along with other winning CFOs, in Institutional Investor magazine's February 2010 issue.

Institutional Investor annually surveys the nation's top portfolio managers, money managers and analysts to identify the top financial executives in the country. Nearly 800 portfolio managers and buy-side analysts along with over 500 sell-side analysts participated in the survey.

In 2009, Varian reacted swiftly to one of the worst markets ever for the semiconductor industry. Throughout this downturn, Varian minimized losses while maintaining a strong focus on product and technology development. Varian has emerged from this environment entrenched as the industry's ion implant market share leader. Additionally, Varian is poised to grow into new markets as it benefits from its investment in disruptive technology.

About Varian Semiconductor Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates is the leading supplier of ion implant equipment to semiconductor manufacturers, enabling them to pack more, higher performing transistors into computer chips that are revolutionizing the electronics industry. Varian Semiconductor's products are used by chip manufacturers worldwide to produce high-performance semiconductor devices. Customers have made Varian Semiconductor the market leader in ion implant because of its architecturally superior products that lower their costs and improve their productivity. Varian Semiconductor operates globally and is headquartered in Gloucester, Massachusetts. More information can be found on Varian Semiconductor's web site at www.vsea.com.

Contacts: Bob Halliday Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer 978.282.7597 or Tom Baker Vice President, Finance 978.282.2301