Management Toolkit

Sun rings in executive changes

Martin LaMonica CNET News

Published: 05 Apr 2004 16:05 BST

Sun Microsystems software executive John Loiacono will become the company's new software chief, while another executive and long-time Microsoft adversary, Rich Green, will be leaving the company, according to sources close to Sun.

The moves mark the first major executive changes at Sun following Friday's sweeping agreement between that company and Microsoft. The two companies, after years of being bitter foes, last week signed a pact to settle all legal proceedings and to collaborate on future technical projects.

Loiacono will serve as executive vice president of software, replacing Jonathan Schwartz, who is now Sun's president and chief operating officer, according to the sources. Loiacono had been vice president of the company's operating platforms group, in charge of the strategy for the Solaris and Linux operating systems.

Green will be leaving to join another software venture, sources said. The changes were announced internally on Friday.

A Sun representative declined to comment on any executive changes.

Green, who had been at Sun since 1989, was a central figure in Sun's antitrust suit against Microsoft. He testified against Microsoft in court, arguing that the software giant violated a Java licensing contract between two companies. Green was also instrumental in signing up PC manufacturers to bundle Sun's own Java virtual machine software, rather than Microsoft's, in their machines.

Another source close to Sun said that Green was instrumental in brokering the company's legal settlement with Microsoft.

Green had been vice president of software development platforms at Sun. He was involved in a programming tool, called Java Studio Creator, which is aimed at luring Microsoft developers to Sun's Java software.