'Top Gun' Bob Walters to Head Linuxcare Business Development Efforts

Business Wire,  Jan 13, 2000  

Tags: business development

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 13, 2000

Linuxcare, the first company to offer comprehensive Linux service and support to the Global 1000, today announced the appointment of Bob Walters, an experienced high-technology executive and a former Marine fighter pilot, as vice president of business development.

Walters' appointment completes Linuxcare's executive management team. Prior to joining Linuxcare, he was vice president of corporate strategy at Informix, a multi-million dollar leader in database software, where he directed development of the firm's evolving business model and market positioning.

The primary author of the OLAP and data warehouse strategies at Informix, Walters also played a key role in acquiring his previous employer, Red Brick Systems, a multi-million dollar vendor of data warehouse software. Before his tenure at Informix, he held executive positions at Dynasty Technologies and at several startup companies in the high-technology sector.

Walters graduated with honors in systems engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. He was a Guggenheim Fellow at Princeton University, where his research focused on developing real-time embedded digital flight controls. During his military career, Walters flew F/A-18 Harrier fighter aircraft as a "Top Gun" pilot for the U.S. Marine Corps. He was selected for the Test Pilot program at the Edwards Air Base school, a key step toward becoming an astronaut.

"Bob brings to Linuxcare an impressive array of talents -- extensive senior management experience at leading technology firms, a firm grasp of the Open Source model, and a track record of building strategic industry alliances and managing successful acquisitions," said Fernand Sarrat, Linuxcare CEO. "Successful partnerships are vital in our mission to provide breakthrough services for enterprise Linux environments, and we welcome Bob's proven abilities in this area."

"Linux and Open Source have transformed the software ecosystem," said Walters. "Five years from now, most Global 1000 companies will employ Open Source software in their core operations. Success in this space is as much an issue of business models as it is of technology. Linuxcare is a market leader largely because its business model-software as breakthrough services -- is correct. My business development efforts will focus on strengthening and expanding this model."

The growing Linux space is familiar to Walters. Informix Corporation was an early adopter of Linux, and has successfully ported its Dynamic Server Database to the increasingly popular operating system. While at Informix, Walters championed porting the Red Brick Warehouse to Linux, and drove the development of a Beowulf-based parallel data warehouse and transitioning several products to open source.

Walters has ambitious plans for Linuxcare. "Our customers have demonstrated their support for our business model," he said. "At Linuxcare, I feel as though I am back in the seat of an F/A-18 Hornet again. This market is moving at Linux speed -- faster than either Mach or Internet -- and we intend to stay out in front."

About Linuxcare, Inc.

Linuxcare, Inc. is the leading provider of customer services for enterprise Linux environments, including technical support, professional services, education, and product certification. Linuxcare supports all major distributions of Linux, leading Open Source software solutions, and Linux-based enterprise database applications, on all major hardware platforms.

The company hosts www.linuxcare.com, the world's leading online technical support resource for Linux. Founded in 1998, Linuxcare is headquartered in San Francisco. The company can be reached at 415/354-4878.

Forward-Looking Statements

Forward-looking statements in this press release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Investors are cautioned that statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding current or future financial performance, management's plans and objectives for future operations, product plans and performance, management's assessment of market factors and statements regarding the strategy and plans of Linuxcare and its strategic partners, constitute forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based upon Linuxcare's current expectations and judgment about future developments in Linuxcare's business and may be affected by several factors, including, without limitation, delays in or increased costs of production, delays in or lower than anticipated sales of Linuxcare services, general conditions in the computer industry. Linuxcare undertakes no obligation to update any such statements to reflect actual events.

Note to Editors: Linuxcare and the Linuxcare logo are service marks, and "At the center of Linux" is a trademark of Linuxcare, Inc. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other trademarks are acknowledged.

COPYRIGHT 2000 Business Wire
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning