Stone Rolls Away From Novell

Chris Stone, who was instrumental in Novell’s acquisition of SUSE
Linux, has left for other pursuits, the company said Thursday. No
successor has been named.

Stone served as Vice Chairman of the Office of the CEO and was one of
the most visible figures in the Provo, Utah-based company’s
forays into open source. Stone had been responsible
for engineering, product management and alliances, the company said.
One of his last projects was getting Novell to join
the IBM-backed Eclipse Project.

“It is with some regret that I have decided to leave Novell and
pursue other professional opportunities,” Stone said in a statement. “I
am proud of my work and accomplishments at Novell, but now is the time
in my career to do something else, and I look forward to new challenges.
Novell is strategically well positioned to remain a viable and
significant vendor in the enterprise software space.”

Novell chairman and CEO Jack Messman said he will oversee Stone’s
responsibilities on an interim basis.

“We thank Chris for his service to Novell over the past two and one
half years,” Messman said in a statement. “He made significant
contributions to changes in our strategic direction, and his vision and
energy will be missed. We wish him well.”

Stuart Cohen, CEO of OSDL, who worked closely together with Stone
after Novell joined OSDL, also offered his condolences.

“Chris Stone has played a key role in the acceleration of Linux, and
we wish him all the best,” Cohen said in a statement. “Stone was
instrumental in Novell’s acquisition of SUSE and in joining and taking a
leadership role with OSDL.”

The news barely impacted the company’s stock, as shares of Novell
ended the day up 1.1 percent, or 8 cents, at $7.18.