Novell Promotes Tom Francese to Executive Vice President for Worldwide Sales

WALTHAM, Mass., Oct. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Novell today promoted Tom Francese, president of Novell(R) EMEA, to the position of executive vice president for worldwide sales. Francese, a proven industry veteran who joined Novell in Oct. 2005 after serving as vice president of IBM's software business in Europe, will assume responsibilities for Novell sales, channel and alliances activities around the globe. He will continue to serve as president of Novell EMEA.

"Few executives in the software industry can match Tom in experience, results, and leadership," said Ron Hovsepian, president and CEO of Novell. "Tom's done a great job in getting our business in EMEA back on a growth track, and he's got the vision and skills to drive similar results for us globally. Tom's deep background in the partnering world will help us further grow the partner ecosystem around Novell's Linux* and IT management offerings, a critical factor for our future success."

Francese brings more than 30 years of technology industry experience to his new role. A long-time IBM veteran, Francese held positions in sales, sales management and operations, including vice president, Software Group Sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa, vice president, central region in the Americas, vice president, Tivoli Worldwide Financial Services Industry Sales, vice president, Worldwide Sales and Support, Networking Computing Software, and director of Enterprise Sales, London. Francese's career started with IBM in 1974 as a sales account manager in Houston, Texas.

"Novell is at a tremendously exciting time in its storied history, as we move aggressively to stake out a leadership position in the rapidly growing Linux and security, identity and systems management markets," said Francese. "We're focused on the right markets, and we have the right technologies, the right vision and strategy, and, most importantly, the right people to execute on our strategy. I'm looking forward to driving sales execution in our key markets around the globe, and working with partners to reach an even broader market for Novell's solutions."

About Novell

Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) delivers Software for the Open Enterprise(TM). With more than 50,000 customers in 43 countries, Novell helps customers manage, simplify, secure and integrate their technology environments by leveraging best-of-breed, open standards-based software. With over 20 years of experience, 4,700 employees, 5,000 partners and support centers around the world, Novell helps customers gain control over their IT operating environment while reducing cost. More information about Novell can be found at http://www.novell.com

Novell is a registered trademark and Software for the Open Enterprise is a trademark of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. *Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.