Business notes Business notes (December 31, 2003)

Former Sun executive take Motorola helm

Ed Zander, a director of the Menlo Park investment firm Silver Lake Partners and a former president of Sun Microsystems, resigned his position at Silver Lake on December 16 to become chief executive officer of Motorola, said a Silver Lake spokesman.

Mr. Zander's 15-year career at Sun included positions as president of the corporation, of the computer division and of Sun's software group, where he was instrumental in the development and marketing of the Solaris operating system and Sun's network management and personal computer integration products.

Mr. Zander, 56, is a director at several firms and is on the advisory board of the Boston University School of Management. He holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Boston University.

Motorola is based in Schaumburg, Illinois.

E-Trade moves base from Menlo Park

As of January 1, E-Trade Financial Corp. will be moving its headquarters from Menlo Park to New York. The move is seen as mainly symbolic; company officials say they expect only three or four of the 360 Menlo Park employees to move to New York. The Menlo Park office will continue to serve as E-Trade's technology hub.

Menlo Park firm adds board member

Peter D. Staple, chief executive officer and director of the biotechnology company Bioseek Inc., recently joined the board of directors of Depomed Inc., a Menlo Park pharmaceutical firm.

He replaces John N. Shell, who retired from the board but remains Depomed's vice president of operations.

Mr. Staple, who lives in Los Altos, brings 20 years experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries to the board. He previously served as executive vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel for Alza Corp., a drug-delivery company. He received his J.D. and B.A from Stanford.

Depomed uses a gastric retention drug delivery system to develop oral drugs that reduce gastrointestinal side effects.

Lighthouse Capital closes investment fund

Lighthouse Capital Partners, a venture debt firm with officers in Menlo Park, recently announced the final close of its fifth investment fund totaling $366 million. The company said it will continue to focus its investment strategy on financing the growth of startups in technology and life science markets.

Lighthouse makes investments in the form of secured loans to early- and expansion-stage companies that have received equity financing from venture capital firms. The firm invests in communication, computing, biotechnology and medical industries in cooperation with limited partners.

Venture firm finds new operating partner

Devesh Garg has joined the Menlo Park office of Bessemer Venture Partners as an operating partner. After 16 years in the semiconductor and electronic design automation industries, Mr. Garg assumed his new position evaluating investment opportunities and assisting with the firm's current portfolio. Previous to Bessemer, Mr. Garg held management positions at Broadcom and Synopsys.

McMullin, Seipp join Coldwell Banker

David M. McMullin and Paul Seipp have joined Coldwell Banker Menlo Park El Camino as broker associates and will specialize in residential sales in Woodside, Atherton and Menlo Park.

A longtime Woodside resident, Mr. McMullin entered the real estate business 23 years ago as a residential agent in San Francisco. He served as chief financial officer for several Silicon Valley technology companies before signing on with Coldwell Banker.

Mr. Seipp, prior to assuming his new position, ran his own development firm, focusing on single-family residential real estate. After graduating with a degree in liberal studies from Oregon State University, he worked as an information specialist for Pinpoint Marketing.

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