Former Unilever CTO to Lead OSDL's Work With Linux Users in Europe

BEAVERTON, Ore., July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), a global consortium dedicated to accelerating the adoption of Linux(R) and open source software, today announced it has appointed Colin Hope-Murray as its Linux User Advisory Council (LUAC) director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Hope-Murray will focus OSDL's EMEA efforts with a specific emphasis on the requirements of Linux and open source users. Europe is considered a spawning ground for Linux and open source projects. With projects such as Linux, Mandriva, MySQL, Trolltech and many others rooted in Europe, the region is in a position to drive new business opportunities around these technologies. Hope-Murray will help facilitate user discussions that bring potential obstacles to the surface and help drive solutions.

"Colin's leadership position as a Linux and open source user at Unilever will be especially valuable to OSDL's LUAC as more companies and governments throughout EMEA put these technologies into their IT mix. Colin knows firsthand both the requirements and the freedoms of Linux," said Stuart Cohen, CEO of OSDL. "Also key is Colin's contribution to OSDL's North American LUAC success. He was a driving force with this Council from the beginning and will apply best practices to EMEA where the market is primed for new growth and continued innovation."

OSDL hosts LUACs in North America, Asia/Pac and EMEA. The Councils are made up of senior-level IT executives who advise on the most pressing requirements for Linux and share successes on deployments. Hope-Murray will lead efforts to increase participation and programs for OSDL's EMEA LUAC. "The OSDL LUACs are an extremely important component of the Linux and open source software market. They are the voice of the customer and understanding their experiences is critical to ongoing adoption," said Colin Hope-Murray, director of the EMEA LUAC, OSDL. "I'm looking forward to working with users in EMEA where so much of the world's open source talent is located."

Most recently, Hope-Murray was chief technology officer of Unilever's Global Infrastructure Organization with worldwide responsibility for IT strategy, architecture, research and development. He has also consulted for a number of multinational organizations on leading-edge solutions and practices. As chair of OSDL's North American LUAC and in preparation for his position as director of OSDL's EMEA LUAC, Hope-Murray established a Linux Roadmap and an Open Source Strategy for enterprise planning and adoption. Previously, Hope- Murray spent 20 years with Digital Equipment where he conducted corporate research and development and managed international standardization and open systems in North America, Europe and the Far East. He also works as executive director for Third Nature, an open source consultancy firm based in Connecticut.

About Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) OSDL -- sponsor of Linus Torvalds, the creator of the Linux kernel -- is dedicated to accelerating the growth and adoption of Linux-based operating systems in the enterprise. Founded in 2000 and supported by a global consortium of major Linux customers and IT industry leaders, OSDL is a nonprofit organization that provides state-of-the-art computing and test facilities available to developers around the world. With offices in China, Europe, Japan and the United States, OSDL sponsors legal and development projects to advance open source software as well as initiatives for Linux systems in telecommunications, in the data center and on enterprise desktops. Visit OSDL on the Web at http://www.osdl.org/.

NOTE: OSDL is a trademark of Open Source Development Labs, Inc. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. Third party marks and brands are the property of their respective holders.