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KYOCERA Announces North American Leadership Succession Plan and Executive Promotions

Lanthorne to be promoted to vice chairman, Rigby to president, of Kyocera International, Inc.; Williams to lead industrial ceramics unit

SAN DIEGO – Jan. 4, 2010 – Kyocera today announced a leadership succession plan at its North American headquarters that will result in three executive promotions.

Effective April 1, 2010, Rodney N. Lanthorne, currently president of Kyocera International, Inc. (“KII”), Kyocera’s North American headquarters and holding company, will assume the responsibility of vice chairman of KII’s board of directors. Mr. Lanthorne, 64, will relinquish his responsibility as KII president effective March 31, 2010. He will continue in his other corporate responsibilities, which include serving as a director of Kyocera Corporation of Kyoto, Japan, the group’s global headquarters and parent company. 

John S. Rigby, formerly president of Kyocera Industrial Ceramics Corporation (“KICC”), will succeed Mr. Lanthorne as president of KII, effective April 1, 2010.  In preparation for the transition, Mr. Rigby, 54, will relocate to San Diego. He has assumed the role of KII president-elect effective January 1, 2010, reporting to Mr. Lanthorne, and will continue in his other corporate responsibilities as an executive officer of Kyocera Corporation.

David M. Williams, formerly Vice President of KICC’s Cutting Tools Division, has been promoted to KICC president, effective January 1, 2010, reporting to Mr. Lanthorne and Mr. Rigby. Mr. Williams, 50, remains based at KICC’s Mountain Home, NC, facility. He will continue in his responsibilities as General Manager, Cutting Tools Division, during a transitional period.

“John Rigby and David Williams have more than 50 years of combined experience in building strong business operations while embracing Kyocera’s core values,” Mr. Lanthorne stated.  “Their thorough knowledge of Kyocera products, technologies and ‘customer-first’ principles will support our continued success in North America.

About KYOCERA

Kyocera International, Inc. is the North American headquarters and holding company for Kyoto, Japan-based Kyocera Corporation. From its base in San Diego, Kyocera International, Inc. leads seven wholly-owned subsidiaries: Kyocera Communications, Inc., Kyocera Wireless Corp. and Kyocera America, Inc., of San Diego;  Kyocera Industrial Ceramics Corporation, of Vancouver, Wash. and Mountain Home, NC; Kyocera Solar, Inc., of Scottsdale Ariz.; Kyocera Tycom Corporation, of Costa Mesa, Calif.; and Kyocera Mexicana, S.A. de C.V., of Tijuana, BC, Mexico.

Kyocera Industrial Ceramics Corporation (http://www.kyocera.com/kicc) manufactures industrial cutting tools and advanced ceramic components, and markets LCDs, thermal printheads, ultra-high vacuum metallized assemblies, industrial lenses, chemical resin products and medical components.

Kyocera Corporation (NYSE:KYO) (TOKYO:6971) (http://global.kyocera.com/), the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of fine ceramics (also known as “advanced ceramics”). By combining these engineered materials with metals and plastics, and integrating them with other technologies, Kyocera Corporation has become a leading supplier of solar electric generating systems, telecommunications equipment, copiers, printers, electronic components, semiconductor packages, cutting tools and industrial ceramics. During the year ended March 31, 2009, the company’s net sales totaled 1.13 trillion yen (approximately US$11.5 billion). Kyocera marked its 50th anniversary in 2009, and the 40th anniversary of its U.S. operations. It is ranked #418 on Forbes magazine’s 2009 “Global 2000” listing of the world’s largest publicly traded companies.

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