Scott McNealy | |
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![]() McNealy in 2005 | |
Born | (1954-11-13)November 13, 1954 (age 70) |
Education | |
Known for | CEO and co-founder, Sun Microsystems[1] |
Spouse | Susan McNealy (m. 1994) |
Children | Maverick, Colt, Dakota, Scout |
Website | Sun Microsystems Scott McNealy bio |
Scott McNealy (born November 13, 1954) is an American businessman. He is most famous for co-founding the computer technology companySun Microsystems in 1982 along withVinod Khosla,Bill Joy, andAndy Bechtolsheim. In 2004, while still at Sun, McNealy foundedCurriki,[1] a free online education service. In 2011, he co-founded Wayin, a social intelligence and visualization company based inDenver.[2] McNealy stepped down from his position as CEO of Wayin in 2016.[3]
McNealy earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics fromHarvard and anMBA from theStanford Graduate School of Business. McNealy has self-deprecatingly referred to himself as a "golf major" rather than a computer scientist.[4][5]
McNealy started out working atAmerican Motors, where his father was vice chairman and vice president of marketing.[6] He later became manufacturing director atOnyx Systems, a vendor of microprocessor-basedUnix systems.[7][8][5]
In 1982, he was approached by fellowStanford alumnusVinod Khosla to help provide the necessary organizational and business leadership forSun Microsystems. Sun, along with companies such asApple Inc.,Silicon Graphics,3Com, andOracle Corporation, was part of a wave of successful startup companies inCalifornia'sSilicon Valley during the early and mid-1980s. The name "Sun" was derived from co-founderAndy Bechtolsheim's originalStanford University Network (SUN) computer project, theSUN workstation.[8]
In 1984, McNealy took over theCEO role from Khosla, who ultimately would leave the company in 1985. On April 24, 2006, McNealy stepped down as CEO after serving in that position for 22 years, and turned the job over toJonathan I. Schwartz. McNealy is one of the few CEOs of a major corporation to have had a tenure of over twenty years.
According to the bookThe Decline and Fall of Nokia, Scott McNealy was the "dream candidate" to become CEO of Nokia in 2010.[9] However, McNealy said he was not offered the job.[10]
In 2017, Scott joined the golf app startup 18Birdies as advisor and equity partner.[11]
In early 2018, he joined the Redis Labs advisory board.[12]
In 2010, the same year Oracle Corporation purchased Sun, McNealy co-founded the social media intelligence companyWayin.[13] The new venture was not widely covered in the media; the day he invited reporters to his home to launch Wayin was the same day Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died.[3] Their product is an application store for brands to self-publish interactive advertising campaigns using reusable digital assets, removing the bulk of cost involved in delivering multi-channel digital advertising.[14]
Wayin sought out and merged with EngageSciences in 2016, to acquire senior staff and diversify their market. In May of that year, McNealy stepped down as CEO and EngageSciences head Richard Jones became CEO of the combined company.[3]In July 2019, Wayin was acquired by Cheetah Digital.[15]
McNealy was born to Marmalee[16][17][18][19] Doris (née Noffke)[20][21][22] andRaymond William McNealy Jr. (1927–2014), inColumbus, Indiana. He grew up inBloomfield Hills, Michigan, where his father, was vice chairman of theAmerican Motors Corporation. He graduated fromCranbrook School; he later supported the campaign of fellow Cranbrook alumnus and 2012 presidential nomineeMitt Romney. Most of his work experience prior to joining Sun was inautomotive manufacturing.[7][8]
He is married to Susan Ingemanson.[20] They lived inPortola Valley, CA,[19] now inNevada, and have four sons:Maverick, Dakota, Colt, and Scout. He is known to be an enthusiasticice hockey player and has been ranked as one of the best golfers in executive ranks.[4][23]
He is the commissioner of theAlternative Golf Association (known as "Flogton").[24]
In 1987, McNealy was named an Award Recipient of theEY Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Northern California Region.[26]
While at Sun, McNealy used the phrase “disagree and commit” (which later became a management principle adopted by other large cooperations) as early as some time between 1983 and 1991, as part of the line "Agree and commit, disagree and commit, or get out of the way".[27]: 39 [28][29]
In 1999, McNealy said, "You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it."[30] WriterStephen Manes criticized the statement in hisFull Disclosure column: "He's right on the facts, wrong on the attitude.... Instead of 'getting over it', citizens need to demand clear rules on privacy, security, and confidentiality."[31] The authors ofPrivacy in the 21st Century admitted, "While a shocking statement, there is an element of truth in it."[32]
McNealy was an early advocate of the networked environment; his company's motto wasThe Network is the Computer. At times, he has been known to be skeptical of products that do not integrate well with networked environments. One example McNealy has given involved theAppleiPod. As quoted inThe Register, McNealy said, "There’s a pendulum thing where stuff is on the client side and then goes back into the network where it belongs. The answering machine put voicemail by the desk, and then it went back into the network. Your iPod is like your home answering machine. I guarantee you it will be hard to sell an iPod five or seven years from now when everycell phone can access your entire music library wherever you are."[33]
McNealy is a self-proclaimed "raginglibertarian", although he often supports and endorses the Republican Party.[34] He makes regular appearances on theFox Business Channel to discuss libertarian business issues.[35] In 2017, McNealy praised the 45th U.S. President, Donald Trump, for his free-market economic policies.[36] On September 17, 2019, McNealy hosted a fundraiser for Donald Trump's re-election campaign.[37][38]
McNealy officially launched Wayin back in October 2011, inviting reporters to his house to talk about the service on the evening of Oct. 5 — which turned out to be the same day that Apple CEO Steve Jobs died.
Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems, once quipped: 'Am I a computer scientist? No, I'm a golf major.' A former captain of the Harvard golf team, he now plays to a 3.2 Handicap Index – lowest of any top executive.
They called their box the SUN – for Stanford University Network – workstation. The investor was intrigued; within a month, Sun Microsystems was born.
In 2010, he co-founded Wayin, a social intelligence company that integrates social content into new experiences for consumers and delivers greater value and control for brands.
The company positions itself as a self-service platform that enables some of the world's biggest brands and publishers to create authentic, interactive campaign experiences that engage and activate consumers across all digital channels. Its digital asset creation tools offer drag and drop templates to easily create just about any marketing materials.
disagree and commit scott mcnealy.
This is a phrase, agree and commit, disagree and commit, that actually comes from Scott McNealy. At least that's where I was told it was from.
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Business positions | ||
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Preceded by | CEO ofSun Microsystems 1984–2006 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | President of Sun Microsystems 1984–1999 2002–2004 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Succeeded by | |
Preceded by | Chairman of Sun Microsystems 1984–2010 | Company acquired byOracle Corporation |