Have you discovered The Alexandria Project?

As you may recall, the CodePlex Foundation indicated in January that it expected to name a permanent Executive Director within a few weeks' time.  That has now happened, and in the "small world" department, the new ED happens to be Paula Hunter - someone I've known for years, and worked with several times in the past.  The full press release is below.  Paula is someone I like and respect a lot, and a great choice for CodePlex.

As you'll see from the announcement, one of Paula's prior jobs was as the Executive Director of UnitedLinux.  UL was a client of mine, and that's where I first met Paula.  And if you've never heard the saga of UL, it's a rather fascinating story.

Since it was a client, I can't go into many details, but suffice it to say that it was an early casualty of SCO's maniacal and misguided obsession with trying to tax the development of Linux.  The write-up at the Wikipedia will give you an idea of how the UL concept figured into (or tried to figure into) the evolution of the commercial Linux marketplace.  You'll also see that the UL technical program included reliance on the Linux Standards Base, the creation of another client of mine (the Free Standards Group).  Paula later worked with the Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), which merged with FSG to become today's Linux Foundation, a current client. 

So as you can see, the threads of collaborative commercial Linux development and support have been very much intertwined, including at the personnel level.  Needless to say, what that means is that Paula knows her way around the block.  And as will see if you browse your way through the links above, the commercial Linux ecosystem really is a small world.  No surprise, then, to see who will be leading CodePlex in the days ahead, and I'm glad to see that the new CodePlex Board has been able to land someone with Paula's experience and integrity.

 Follow the Further Adventures of Frank at The Alexandria Project

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Seattle, WA., February 3, 2010. Open Source Association Veteran Paula Hunter Named Executive Director of The CodePlex Foundation

Track record in managing and promoting industry organizations brings diversity to open source Foundation

The CodePlex Foundation, a non-profit foundation formed with the mission of enabling the exchange of code and understanding among software companies and open source communities, today announced the appointment of Paula Hunter to the post of Executive Director. Hunter comes to the CodePlex Foundation with more than 15 years experience in high technology marketing, operations and business development, including leadership roles at open source organizations Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) and United Linux.

Hunter is the first full-time staff member to join the CodePlex Foundation. She will be responsible for the Foundation's operations, including personnel, budgets, and programs, with primary responsibility for sponsor development; evangelism for the Foundation and its mission; and outreach to key open source organizations including other foundations.

"The CodePlex Foundation has a unique opportunity to facilitate interaction among corporate software developers interested in participating in open source projects, the open source community, and software companies," said Hunter. "I am looking forward to driving the Foundation's mission of advancing dialog between software companies and open source communities, supporting the Board of Directors, and working with sponsors and key influencers to establish the Foundation as an essential facilitator of community collaboration."

"Paula has a compelling combination of industry insight, executive-level business savvy and experience working with not-for-profits and strong Boards," said Sam Ramji, interim President, CodePlex Foundation Board of Directors. "With this appointment, the Foundation is taking a big step towards a permanent management and governance structure that will aid us in achieving our mission."

Most recently Hunter served as Director of Operations for SEMPO, the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization, a non-profit professional association working to increase awareness and promote the value of Search Engine Marketing worldwide. Prior to SEMPO, Hunter was director of worldwide marketing and business development for the Open Source Development Labs, where she was instrumental in driving membership growth of industry advocacy group and lead initiatives to increase industry awareness and engage large enterprise IT organizations with OSDL programs. Previously, Hunter was general manager of UnitedLinux, a joint venture formed to create a unified Linux offering. She began her career at Digital Equipment Corporation, where she managed marketing programs for DEC's UNIX Workstation and PC product lines.

Hunter received a BS in Computer Information Systems from Bentley University.

About the CodePlex Foundation

The CodePlex Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation created as a forum in which open source communities and the software development community can come together with the shared goal of increasing participation in open source community projects. For more information about the CodePlex Foundation contact info@codeplex.org