McNealy Resigns As Sun CEO
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Sun Microsystems said yesterday that Scott McNealy resigned as chief executive, a job he has held for 22 years, as the struggling computer hardware giant looks to new leadership to reverse its fortunes.
The company, which separately reported a wider fiscal third-quarter loss, promoted Jonathan Schwartz, 40, currently Sun’s president and chief operating officer, to the CEO post, effective immediately. Mr. McNealy, 51, who co-founded Sun in 1982, will retain his post as chairman.
The news sent the company’s shares up 9% in after-hours trading.
Mr. McNealy failed to enact any wide-ranging job cuts or wholesale restructuring that many analysts and investors said were needed to restore Sun to consistent profitability.
The company has lost market share to rivals, and speculation about who would succeed Mr. McNealy in Sun’s top job has swirled for several years, especially after the departures of top executives including Sun co-founder Bill Joy and former President Ed Zander, who left to take over the CEO post at Motorola.
