Sun STARS around the globe: Benoit Chaffanjon

Tuesday Dec 18, 2007

Born in France in the Doubs department, this Sun Star even has a family crest:

Introducing Benoit Chaffanjon, Principal Engineer for Sun's Customer Benchmark Center:

Benoit's family is from the Beaujolais area where they have been producing Fleurie wine since the year 910. It is to be noted that the original domain name "Les Chaffangeons" stayed. His ancestor, The Vicomte Bertrand de Chaffangeon changed his name to Monsieur Chaffanjon in 1789 to escape the French revolution and save his head from La guillotine.

Great stuff Benoit! Now on to our interview...

How long have you been employed with Sun and where are you located?

I have been working at Sun since May 1998. I was initially located in Menlo Park, then in Newark,CA (a bridge away) now back in Menlo Park. We are opening the new Sun Solution Center in MPK15 early February 2008.

What is your current job role?

I am the Principal Engineer for the Customer benchmark center. My role is to assist our customers to get the best performance out of their solutions. I also help our architects to validate their designs. In addition, I publish characterization white papers to assist our customers choose between all the different type of chips & servers available.

What do you like about working for Sun?

The Sun culture is simple and powerful. As Scott McNealy used to say : "Kick butt and have fun !" It also takes time in a large company to develop a network of experts who can help you.

Please briefly describe any projects you are involved in that support Sun's vision to see everyone and everything participating on the network.

I am a strong advocate of the Sun Customer Engineering Conference. This phenomenal event designed for the customer facing Sun engineers is an exceptional opportunity to exchange & learn. This year's event was in las Vegas and I used the opportunity to present my vision of how to analyze performance. Just google "Pessimistic Performance Analysis" to find out.

Do you have a favorite blog or website? What about a favorite "junk" food?

Definitely Wikipedia. A phenomenal web site showing worldwide knowledge in multiple languages. Of course I can also advocate for the Internet Cello Society or the Sun Microsystems Golf Association.

Regarding junk food, I strongly recommend to skip all junk food in 2008. You would have saved enough money to bring your family to the French Laundry.

Do you participate in any social networking websites?

LinkedIn definitely.

If you could meet anyone tomorrow, who would it be? Why?

I'd like a meeting with all the major religious leaders in the world (including the pope Benedict XVI) to discuss the Golden Compass atheist trilogy and its implications.

Tell us a little known fact about yourself.

I started my career as a college math teacher but also as a week-end boomerang teacher (yes !). I built more than 250 boomerangs including very dangerous models in milled aluminum. These models, not for sale anywhere, are to be used only on an empty beach at 6am ... They can fly up to 300 feet at a speed of 150 mph and come back in your hands. If you want to see one, let me know....

Outside of work and family, is there anything that you're passionate about (sports, causes, etc.)?

Well, you will find some passion with the 156 HP Kawasaki Concours 14. If you like speed and want more acceleration than a Ferrari Testarossa, check it out!

Before driving this airplane (sorry -bike), you will need to complete the excellent class provided by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.

Thanks for teaching this Diva some French during the interview! Or should I say "merci"?

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To learn more about Benoit and what's going on at Sun's Customer Benchmark Center, read his blog: Mr Benchmark.