McNealy yields CEO role to Schwartz at Sun

Scott McNealy stepped Sun CEO after 22 years at the helm, replaced by President and COO Jonathan Schwartz today, after the company announced its quarterly results. McNealy will remain as chairman. "Jonathan has risen to the top of the class, and he is ready," McNealy said during a conference call. "It's part of our ongoing succession process we've been working on since my days at the GE board."  The 40-year-old Schwartz is a ten-year Sun veteran, and has been leading Sun's efforts to open source its software to create more opportunities for the company to sell its infrastructure products and services in the "age of participation." The latest results showed a revenue increased of 21 percent, in part helped by the StorageTek acquisition, but a wider net loss the same quarter a year earlier.

The two claim to be in synch, but it clearly sends a signal to the market that the time has come for McNealy to step back and allow his younger counterpart, with an equally finely tuned wit, to take the lead. More to come after the media call at 3:00 PM PST...