Ex-Motorola CEO Ed Zander surfaces at NetSuite

Tech veteran Ed Zander is back in the news. [NetSuite](http://www.netsuite.com), a provider of on-demand business software, announced that Zander has joined its board of directors.

Zander resigned as CEO of struggling Motorola back in 2007. Before that he spent 15 years with Sun Microsystems and served as president behind then CEO Scott McNealy.

Nelson said Zander’s experience would help NetSuite’s growth plans in the cloud computing space it plans in:
“Cloud computing is the convergence of telecommunications, advanced data center capabilities, and great web-native software. Ed’s incredible background and track record in all of these areas will bring enormous benefits to NetSuite as we bring the promise of Cloud Computing to businesses worldwide.”

At NetSuite he joins the only technology company board that includes, to the best of my knowledge, the general manager of a professional sports team, Billy Beane, the GM of the Oakland Athletics. NetSuite CEO [Zach Nelson](/bus-news/article.php/3777331) is a huge baseball fan. Beane was the subject of Michael Lewis’ best-selling book “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.”

**The iPhone Connection**

iPhone fans may hold a soft spot for Zander who was at Motorola when the company launched the ill-fated Rockr phone. Thanks to a licensing deal with Apple, Rockr included access to Apple’s iTunes store.

Steve Jobs undoubtedly learned a thing or two about the phone business from the experience. Specifically, the cynical line of reasoning goes, Jobs would have learned how not to design a great consumer mobile device based on Rockr’s lackluster reception by consumers.