Dr. Eric Schmidt Appointed Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Novell,
Inc.
The Internet Pioneer and Chief Technology Officer of Sun Microsystems Describes the
Move as
"the Opportunity of a Lifetime."
Provo, UT -- March 18, 1997 -- Novell, Inc. and Sun Microsystems, Inc.
today
announced that Dr. Eric Schmidt will join Novell on April 7, 1997 as chairman of the board and
chief
executive officer.
Widely recognized as an Internet pioneer and instrumental in the widespread acceptance of
Java
technology (the platform independent programming language that Sun developed), Dr. Schmidt
brings to
Novell 20 years of leadership in software and systems research, marketing and business
management.
"We are grateful for the many contributions Eric has made to Sun's success," said Scott McNealy,
chairman, president and chief executive officer, Sun Microsystems. "He is an awesome
technologist,
committed to advancing network computing. We wish him every success in his new position."
Novell chairman John Young will become vice chairman of the company with this announcement.
He
commented, "Clearly, having an executive of Eric Schmidt's stature and business experience as the
Novell
CEO will contribute significantly to the next chapter of growth for the company. More
importantly, as a
recognized leader in the move to network computing, Eric shares Novell's view -- and the view of
thousands
of enterprises -- that the future of networks relies on the value of open standards and software
that enable
people to securely share information and conduct business on the Internet."
"When the opportunity came up to lead one of the most exciting companies in the networking
space, my
immediate reaction was 'This is an opportunity of a lifetime,'" said Dr. Schmidt. "Of course, I will
miss
deeply all of the wonderful people at Sun from whom I have learned a great deal, and to whom I
owe a
great debt.
"Over the last few years I've watched hundreds of enterprises make the move to network-based
information
systems. The pace of this change has accelerated considerably over the last few months for
Novell's
customers since Joe Marengi took over as president and COO. Novell offers these enterprises --
and
thousands of others -- a powerful way to prosper in a world defined by open standards-based
software and
the Internet."
Dr. Schmidt joined Sun Microsystems in 1983 as manager of software and has held numerous
positions in
his nearly 14 years of service, including: director of software engineering, vice president and
general
manager of the software products division, vice president of the general systems group, and
president of
Sun Technology Enterprises.
Prior to joining Sun, Dr. Schmidt was a member of the research staff at the Computer Science
Lab at
Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and held positions at Bell Laboratories and Zilog. Dr.
Schmidt
has a BS in electrical engineering from Princeton University and a MS and Ph.D. in Computer
Science
from the University of California at Berkeley.
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network Is The Computer" has
propelled Sun
Microsystems, Inc., (NASDAQ: SUNW), to its position as a leading provider of hardware,
software and
services for establishing enterprise-wide intranets and expanding the power of the Internet. With
more than
$7 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and on the worldwide
web at http://www.sun.com. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo,
Java, and
The Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems,
Inc., in the
United States and other countries.
About Novell, Inc.
Founded in 1983, Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL) is the world's leading provider of network
software. The
company offers a wide range of network solutions for distributed network, Internet, intranet and
small-business markets. Novell education and technical support programs are the most
comprehensive in
the network computing industry. Information about Novell's complete range of products and
services can
be accessed on the World Wide Web at http://www.novell.com.
For More Information Contact:
For Novell, Inc.
Jonathan Cohen
Phone: (408) 577-7268
Danielle Epstein
Cunningham Communications
Phone: (408) 858-3745
For Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Raymond G. Nasr
Phone: (415) 786-4395
Jennifer Graham
Phone: (415) 786-9728
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