(FORTUNE Magazine) – Scott McNealy, 37, CEO of Sun Microsystems, guessed right about Carol Bartz, 43, his No. 2. Six months ago he told his board only a miracle would prevent the computer workstation manufacturer from losing the fast-rising star. Sure enough, Bartz recently quit to become chairman, CEO, and president of Autodesk, a Sausalito, California, company that makes the best-selling computer-aided design software package. Except for a handful of women -- like Sandra Kurtzig of ASK -- who founded their own companies, Bartz is the highest-ranking woman in the industry. ''I know the pressure of being a high-profile female executive,'' she says. ''I wish it didn't matter, but it does.'' Husband William Marr, 45, Sun's VP of U.S. field operations, seems unruffled that his wife has more executive clout. Says she: ''A lot of guys could handle it, but only if their buddies didn't know. I happen to have a great husband who doesn't think that way.'' They have a daughter, Layne, 3. Bartz, who has a degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin, joined Sun in 1983 after seven years at Digital Equipment, where she started as a sales rep. Autodesk (1991 sales: $285 million) had been searching for a CEO since October, when Alvar Green, 46, said he would retire. Green's announcement came after a scathing memo from the company's founder and largest individual shareholder, John Walker, 42, who was sharply critical of a management that had failed to keep pace with industry trends. Green retired in early May. An avid gardener, Bartz relaxes by ''getting my hands on dirt. It takes away the madness of corporate life.''