|
Open source veteran Matt Asay is now Canonical's COO
|
Open source operating system Ubuntu's sponsor Canonical has said that open source industry veteran Matt Asay has come aboard as chief operating officer (COO). He would be responsible for aligning strategic goals and operational activities, the optimization of day-to-day operations, and leadership of Canonical marketing and back-office functions.
Prior to joining Canonical, he was VP, Business Development for Alfresco. Asay has been involved with open source since 1998, and is one of the industry's leading open source business strategists, Canonical said.
“As more companies and people are embracing Ubuntu for their day-to-day computing, we felt it critical to bring in a person who knew not just open source, but has a long experience in making Linux relevant to businesses and users alike,” said Jane Silber, present COO who takes over the mantle of CEO at Canonical next month when Mark Shuttleworth hands over.
“We think Matt brings to Canonical the perfect blend of industry, executive and community savvy,” Silber said.
Before joining Alfresco Asay was a founding member of Novell's Linux Business Office in 2002 and was an early influencer and participant in the company's shift to open source. In 2003, he founded the Open Source Business Conference, the industry's premier open source strategy event, and has served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence for Thomas Weisel Venture Partners, focusing on open source investment opportunities. Prior to Novell, Asay was General Manager at Lineo, an embedded Linux software start-up, where he ran Lineo's Residential Gateway business. He is an emeritus board member of the Open Source Initiative (OSI).
Asay earned his Juris Doctorate degree at Stanford Law School, spending two of his three years studying software licensing and innovation, and specifically the GNU General Public License, under Professor Larry Lessig. He also holds Masters and Bachelors degrees from the University of Kent (Canterbury, UK) and Brigham Young University, respectively. Asay writes C/NET's open source blog, |
