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Sun names exec for new government sales office

Clark Masters lands the top job at the unit after an April ouster from his post leading the high-end server group.

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
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Stephen Shankland
Clark Masters, the executive vice president who formerly ran Sun Microsystems' high-end server group, has taken over the new Global Government Office, Sun said Tuesday.

The job includes selling servers that emphasize security to the United States and other governments. In addition, Masters will work on research partnerships such as a U.S. Defense Advanced Research Program Agency program to advance the state of the art of supercomputing.

Masters was ousted from his old job in April as was Neil Knox, who led the lower-end server group, after former software chief Jonathan Schwartz was promoted to president and chief operating officer.

Sun, once a formidable force in the market for the networked data storage and processing machines called servers, has suffered market share losses and three years of declining revenue.

Sun is angling to woo government buyers for its server software in which countries can use as much of the Java Enterprise System of server software as they want, with pricing based solely on how many citizens the country has and the country's overall level of economic development.

Masters' new title is executive vice president of the Global Government Office and president of the Sun Microsystems Federal subsidiary.