Doris Gormley, OSF

Director, Corporate Social Responsibility

The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia
Our Lady of Angels Convent-Glen Riddle
Aston, PA 19014

Dear Sister Gormley,

Thank you for your letter urging us to enrich the board by seeking qualified women and members of
racial minorities as nominees. I would like to put forth the managements take on the issue and the
reasons behind this scenario.
As such the company does not have any policy discriminating women and racial minorities in the
appointment of board membership. The semiconductor business is a tough one with significant
competition from the Japanese, Taiwanese and Koreans. There have been more corporate casualties
than survivors. For these reasons we have stringent and essential criteria for board membership, as
follows:

Experience as CEO of an important technology company.
Direct expertise in the semiconductor business based on education and management
experience.
Direct experience in the management of a company that buys from the semiconductor industry.

A search and selection based on these criteria usually yields a male who is 50-plus years old, has a
masters degree in engineering science and has moved up the managerial ladder to the top spot in one
or more corporations. We hope the situation will change in next 10 years.
I think I have justified the companys stand on the issue. I would like to assure you Cypress
Semiconductor Corporation will quickly embrace the opportunity to include any woman or minority
person who could qualify as director with the required talents. I once again thank you for your interest,
investment and concern in Cypress Semiconductor Corporation.


Sincerely,

T.J.Rodgers
President CEO
TJR/cxs