Sun names top execs to federal unit

Two new executives will help former Sun Microsystems Inc. CEO Scott McNealy build up Sun Microsystems Federal Inc., the Sun subsidiary McNealy now leads as chairman.

Bill Vass, formerly Sun's Chief Information Officer, was named president and chief operating officer of Sun Federal, and Anthony Robbins was hired as vice president of federal sales.

They join McNealy in his quest to sell security products such as the Trusted Solaris OS, identity management software and Sun Fire systems to federal customers.

"Bill and Anthony redouble the commitment to government established by Scott and me, adding top talent and focus," said Jonathan Schwartz, CEO at Sun Microsystems, in a statement announcing the appointments. "Now is the time for all technology companies to place their priorities on evolving the safety, security and innovation available to our government."

Before joining Sun, Vass held positions across the government sector. Vass served as a director within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Office of the CIO. He was responsible for the IT strategy deployment and execution for three sectors of the Defense's Department's IT infrastructure: DOD Software Management, CIO Pentagon IT infrastructure Oversight and Architecture and Network Operations for the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

With Vass' transition to Sun Federal, Sun Microsystems appointed Robert Worrall to the position of CIO. Worrall formerly served as Vice President of IT under Vass.

Anthony Robbins previously worked at SGI Inc., where he began as a sales representative responsible for civilian agencies, DOD and intelligence agency business. He was promoted to president of SGI Federal and Senior Vice President of the North American Field Organization. Most recently, he was senior vice president of worldwide sales for SGI.

After 20 years of service to Sun Microsystems, John Marselle, COO of Sun Federal will retire.

Sun of Santa Clara, Calif., had annual revenue of about $11.1 billion and a net loss of $107 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005.