Just before the start of the Christmas weekend, Red Hat (News - Alert) (maker of the Red Hat Linux open source operating system) announced the end of an era: the company’s president and CEO, Matthew Szulik, will be stepping down January 1, 2008. Szulik, who led the company for almost ten years, will be succeeded by James Whitehurst. (Szulik will remain on the Board of Directors, however.)

 

In the company’s announcement, Red Hat board lead director William Kaiser praised Szulik’s leadership.

 

“From Red Hat’s early days as a small, private company, Szulik transformed Red Hat into a globally recognized brand whose approach to technology development and customer service has redefined the software industry,” Kaiser said in a statement.

 

In a news blog post on the Red Hat Web site, Szulik indulged in a trip down memory lane, reminiscing about the “tough” nature of the company and his time there.

“Throughout my tenure, it was my dream, that even in the face of the most difficult odds and vicious competition, we, the people of Red Hat could make an enormous and positive improvement in the lives of others,” Szulik wrote. “I thank the people of Red Hat. I will always be grateful for the sacrifices, contributions and camaraderie.”

Whitehurst, befitting his new role, was meanwhile busy looking ahead.

“Red Hat has changed the way people consume technology,” Red Hat’s new President and CEO said in a statement. “This is an outstanding company that I feel privileged to join. Our outlook is positive with strong technology, great people, solid management and a global brand. Red Hat leads the software industry in delivering value to its customers. I welcome this opportunity to lead Red Hat into the future.”

 

Whitehurst has a solid record of leadership positions at various companies, but no direct professional experience with open source software. Most recently he served as Chief Operations Officer at Delta Airlines (from 2002). Prior to Delta, he was Vice President and Director of The Boston Consulting Group.

 

Answering those who are concerned about Whitehurst’s apparent lack of experience in the open source software industry, Red Hat executive Michael Tiemann in a blog post defended the credibility and appropriateness of the appointment. Tiemann pointed out that Whitehurst was an “open source guy” before he was an “airline guy,” being an open source software hobbyist who has used various version of Red Hat Linux in addition to Fedora Core 6 (a Red Hat-sponsored open source project).

 

“I have met hundreds of executives around the world representing every major industry and more than a few governments, and I've always been most impressed by those who tell me about the open source software they run at home and why,” Tiemann wrote in his blog post. “What a tragedy it would be to discount all that experience, all that knowledge, all that energy because the executive in question has a day job running a petrochemical company, a manufacturing company, a logistics company, a trading company, a bank, or a national government!”