Schwartz gets new job at Silver Spring Networks

Jonathan Schwartz

Jonathan Schwartz has put the days of Sun Microsystems behind him and is embracing his new future at Silver Spring Networks.

The former chief executive (CEO) has joined the board of directors at the firm, which specialises in smart grid solutions for monitoring and managing energy consumption.

Schwartz had been CEO at Sun since 2004 but, when the company was acquired by Oracle in 2009, he showed his thoughts on the deal by jumping ship.

Initially he had encouraged his employees to embrace the change in structure and to "start with a clean slate" at Larry Ellison's firm.

However, less than a week later the CEO tweeted his departure in haiku form, saying: "Financial crisis/Stalled too many customers/CEO no more."

It was never clear whether Schwartz left or was pushed in February 2010, but he soon got back into the technology game, founding a new company called Picture of Health in September the same year.

Now, he has added another string to his bow by joining Silver Spring Networks.

"The evolution of the smart grid, led by Silver Spring Networks, is one of the most exciting transformations of our lifetime," said Schwartz.

"I am thrilled to join the board of Silver Spring Networks, whose industry-leading Smart Energy Platform redefines the economics and potential of smart grids across the world."

Jennifer Scott

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.