Red Hat, the open source technology giant, has appointed Paul Cormier as its chief executive officer (CEO). 

Cormier previously served as the company’s president of products and technology and will now replace Jim Whitehurst who left to become president of IBM following Ginni Rometty’s retirement in January. 

Since joining Red Hat in 2001, Cormier has been involved in more than 25 acquisitions, pushing the company beyond its roots with Linux.

He is credited with pioneering the subscription model that helped the company transform from an open source disruptor into an enterprise technology mainstay. Cormier was also ‘”instrumental” in helping the company combined with IBM following its $43 billion acquisition.

“When I joined Red Hat, it would have been impossible to predict how Linux and open source would change our world, but they are truly everywhere,” Cormier said in a statement. 

“The transformations I see happening in our industry are exciting, as they present new challenges and opportunities. The opportunity for Red Hat has never been bigger than it is today and I am honoured to lead the company to help our customers solve their challenges and to keep Red Hat at the forefront of innovation.”

Having worked with him at Red Hat for more than a decade, Whitehurst said that Cormier was the “natural choice” to lead the company. The IBM president called Cormier the driving force behind its product strategy and explained that he understands how to help its customers and partners make the most out of their cloud strategies. 
 
“He is a proven leader and his commitment to open source principles and ways of working will enable Red Hat not only to keep pace with the demands of enterprise IT, but also lead the way as emerging technologies break into the mainstream,” said Whitehurst. 
 
“It was my honour and privilege to lead a company filled with many of our industry’s best and brightest and I am excited to see what Red Hatters accomplish under Paul’s leadership.”​