Sun's Zander to step down
Published: 01 May 2002 14:16 BST
Sun Microsystems said on Wednesday that Ed Zander, its president and chief operating officer, would retire this summer.
Zander, 55, will step down on 1 July. Sun chief executive Scott McNealy will take on Zander's duties, and a replacement will not be named. Zander will stay on to assist McNealy with the transition, among other things, for the rest of the calendar year, the company said.
"He's got a lot of work to do before I give him his Swatch," McNealy said in a conference call, alluding to the corporate cliche of presenting a retiree with a gold watch.
The news comes as a surprise since Zander, along with McNealy, was among the most visible executives at Sun. Zander worked at the company for more than 15 years.
"What can I say but thanks to just an awesome effort by Eddy over all of these years," McNealy said in the call with analysts and reporters on Wednesday morning.
Late April and early May appears to be retirement season for Sun as the computer and software maker prepares for its new fiscal year, which starts in July.
Earlier this week, the company announced an organisational shuffle that included the retirement of Larry Hambly, 55, as executive vice president of enterprise services. At the same time, Sun shuffled other executives as it expanded its software division and added a new marketing and business development organization.
Hambly was the third top-level retirement Sun announced in April. Chief financial officer Mike Lehman, 51, will be replaced by Steve McGowan, 53. Also retiring is John Shoemaker, 59-year-old executive vice president of computer systems, who won't have a replacement.
The changes, McNealy said, are part of an overall plan to bring the company back to profitability after the economic slump of 2001. He parried the question of whether more retirements would come between now and July 1.
Meanwhile, Sun is aiming for a smooth transition as the executives depart.
"I asked Mike Lehman, for example, to stay on a little longer than he might have wanted to," McNealy said.
Although the 1 July transition might seem abrupt, Zander said in the conference call, it has been a year in the making. In a statement, he said that the decision to leave was something he had considered "carefully over the past year."
"I felt I wanted to help Sun get though what I thought was going to be a difficult year," he said. "I'm excited. I think we've got some great people in Sun...the making of a good management team."
Citing the company's new server product offerings, Zander said, "I think Sun is in the best shape it's been in in years."
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