In my 30 years in the computer industry and 21+ years at Sun, no one has been better at discussing Software Development than Dr. Bruce Haddon. Bruce has the rare ability to talk to a CEO one second and the Java Real Time Developer the next. There are countless examples of Bruce speaking to a large group of Developers and the final question is ALWAYS, "Bruce, this is GREAT, when can you come back? " I always went out of my way to attend any of Bruce's talks since I always learned something new and interesting.
There is not enough storage space on http://blogs.sun.com to list all of Bruce Haddon's many accomplishments. I will name just two of a very long list. Bruce was the Father of Java Center Of Excellence (JCOE) as well as my co-author in Software Genius University (SGU). When I was told that we only had one chance to speak to an extremely important customer about software development, my response was always the same, "call Bruce, no one is better on this planet."
Dr. Bruce Haddon is the definition of what the ultimate professional should be.
Thanks Bruce for your INCREDIBLE LEADERSHIP in Software Development at Sun Microsystems with so many customers, Developers, Partners, University students, employees.....
I worked with Bruce in the days before Redcape was acquired by Sun. I concur with Dave's appraisal above. I will Bruce all the best.
-- mark
Posted by Mark on July 28, 2008 at 06:25 PM EDT #
Bruce was my partner at Sun for a number of years. During that time we worked on many projects. All of which were not only successful but totally reference-able. This was due in great measure to Bruce's ability to make complex issues look simple to both the techs and the customer.
It takes a man of great wisdom to make the complex appear simple. Bruce is one of those with this exceptional ability. This simple minded individual will always appreciate Bruce as a former associate and always as the best of friends.
Posted by Eliott Mendelson on August 01, 2008 at 02:26 PM EDT #
My name is Jean-Marc Feral and know Bruce since 1994. At that time i was a software developper and Bruce was in charge of setting up a software R&D center for StorageTek as this company was creating a new facility in Toulouse, France. Bruce had the confidence of his management to create this new team from scratch in a foreign country. I guess it was a big chalenge for him but also a real proof of confidence given by his superiors. I was one of the 6 first engineers hired by Bruce and since the beginning, the construction of this team impressed me. Bruce has chosen 6 different persons with complementary skills and characters: some more process oriented, some more imagination oriented, some more leadership oriented... Bruce was briliant in building this pioneer team to start this R&D center. We were sent 2 months in Colorado at STK headquaters for learning all storage products and meet people. It was amazing how this in-depth training was well organized, technically speaking first but above all in terms of human resources: communication with american people was so well organized with different sessions than i still have some friends from US known from that time.
Back in Toulouse, our team has grown and Bruce remained our charismatic manager for some years. It was a real success and this pioneer spirit never disappeared from the R&D team. Bruce was the initiator and main contributor to this fantastic adventure.
If i had to qualify Bruce skills i would say that, behind his huge technical knowledge, he is a great manager in the sense that he does not have to convince his team that he is the manager. He gives the high level directions and let his team explore the different possibilities to reach the target. Of course, like a guide, he would stop a endless development or a wrong idea if he did not see any efficiency or future possibility behind. But the most important for leading a R&D team is to setup an environment, an atmosphere where people can give this best and where creation can spring out. Bruce did that very well and dozens of programs were developped in our department.
In addition to that, Bruce has insisted very early on the quality of the programs developped in Toulouse. It was a key point on our success: provide a product with zero default. A good quality team is essential and Bruce knew it.
After a few years, we had become storage professionals and it was indeed remarkable to see this transformation thanks to Bruce leadership and competencies.
Years after his job change to SUN, i still remember his last words to me as he said 'au revoir' to me: "don't give up your imagination, you can accomplish great things with it". A few years after this time, i invented DIVArchive, an archive product dedicated to broadcast environment, now leader by far on the worldwide market.
Posted by Jean-Marc Feral on August 16, 2008 at 05:39 PM EDT #