Gawker 
Apr 21, 2006 4:57 PM
141
Closer and closer sources confirm the persistent rumor that Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy will bow out. The old softie can't handle the pressure to fire workers — he never did like to lay off staff — according to the San Jose Mercury News. And he'll always have a spot open as chairman.
Time to update the "Leaving any day now" scoreboard:
| Exec | Position | History | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lloyd Braun | Head of Yahoo Media Group | Reportedly saved when a flurry of "he's out" rumors forced Yahoo to make a decision about him. Last seen replacing the business plan that got him hired. | On the edge |
| Terry Semel | Yahoo CEO | Brought in a crowd of Hollywood friends to rev up Yahoo; so far, results have been mixed. He won't last forever — in a year or two, one VP or another will shine too bright to stay below C-level. Unless Terry gets bored and moves back to Hollywood first. | Sitting pretty |
| David Cole | MSN Senior VP at Microsoft | Casualty of the flagging MSN and rising Microsoft Live hegemony. Cloaked his exit as a sabbatical. | Done. Gone. Not in the org chart. |
| Michael Rawding | MSN Global Sales and Marketing VP at Microsoft | Wanted Cole's job. Wasn't up to snuff. Heading home. | A write-off |
| Yusuf Mehdi | MSN Chief Advertising Strategist | One of the deckchairs being rearranged on the MSN Titanic — he hasn't been dropped as quickly as we thought, but who knows? | Safe for now |
| Eric Schmidt | Google CEO | Ever since the IPO, Eric's been wandering around (or working hard without really working), making sure the kids play nice. No real reason he couldn't leave, but why swap out when he fills the suit just fine? | Not going anywhere |
| Scott McNealy | CEO of Sun Microsystems | Still won't lay off workers. This and pressure from the board could make him step back to a chairman position. | Which comes first, the resignation or the mental breakdown? |
Might McNealy step down at Sun? [Mercury News]
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