His work in the technology sector included management positions at Data General and Apollo Computer before joining Sun Microsystems in 1987, where he was later promoted to Chief Operating Officer and President.

[1] Zander is the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland (father) and Greece (mother),[2] who couldn't afford college but stressed education to their children.

[2] Growing up, he was given the nickname "Fast Eddie" by his friends because, according to a Boston Globe article, he frequently demonstrated the "hustle of a street kid spoiling for a good fight."

After Zander left the company in 2002, CEO Scott McNealy reassumed the duties of President and COO until the promotion of Jonathan Schwartz to those roles on April 2, 2004.

On January 5, 2004, Zander was selected by the Motorola board of directors to succeed Chris Galvin who retired in September 2003, ending a three generation reign of his family at the head of the electronics giant.

After Motorola posted a $181 million loss for the first quarter of 2007, Zander came under increased pressure, with Carl Icahn first demanding a share buyback, then a seat on the board of directors.

[7][8] By 2007, without new cellphones that carriers wanted to offer, Motorola sold tens of millions of Razrs and their offshoots by slashing prices, causing margins to collapse in the process.

[9] Under Zander, Ron Garriques (who was responsible for the successful RAZR) departed for Dell Inc., while Stu Reed failed to turn around the struggling mobile handset division.

[10] Instead of developing new and exciting products, Motorola placed Razrs into colored lingerie (red in February for Valentine's Day) while Apple Inc. unveiled the revolutionary new iPhone.