New Boss Selected for Motorola

Motorola has elected the former boss of Sun, Edward J. Zander to succeed Christopher B. Galvin as chairman and chief executive officer of the company. Zander, 56, most recently was a managing director of Silver Lake Partners, a leading private equity fund focused on investments in technology industries. Zander will join Motorola in his new capacity effective 5 January 2004.

On behalf of the Motorola Board of Directors, John Pepper, Jr., director and chairman of the CEO search committee, said, "The board is delighted to announce Ed Zander as Motorola's new chairman and CEO. Ed is recognized as one of the most outstanding business leaders and intellects in the field of technology and business operations. He will bring Motorola not only a wealth of experience but a keen understanding of the emerging challenges and opportunities in the communications space. The board is deeply impressed by his understanding of Motorola's strengths and how they can be leveraged for greater advantage. We are confident that he will bring to Motorola precisely that combination of strategic insight and imagination, operational discipline and decisiveness, and inspirational leadership needed for accelerated and sustained growth."

Mike Zafirovski will remain president and chief operating officer of Motorola. Zafirovski said, "Ed brings a wealth of experience to Motorola, and I believe that working together we can build upon Motorola's impressive legacy to continue to be a global leader in technology and communications."

Zander brings more than 25 years of experience in technology companies. Prior to Silver Lake Partners Zander was president and COO of Sun Microsystems until June 2002. He oversaw the company's manufacturing, research and development, sales and marketing as well as clearly established Sun as an industry leader in systems and software. Earlier, Zander served as president of Sun's software group where he oversaw the development and marketing of Solaris and led Sun's network management, PC integration, and software product suites. Prior to joining Sun in 1987, Zander held senior management positions at Apollo Computer and Data General.

Zander is a director on the board of Seagate Technology. He also serves on the board of directors of several educational and non-profit organizations including the Jason Foundation for Education, the science advisory board of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the advisory board of the School of Management of Boston University."

Posted to the site on 17th December 2003