Codeplex Foundation Adds Execs To Its Board

The CodePlex Foundation has announced the expansion of its Board of Directors.

The CodePlex Foundation describes itself as “a not-for-profit foundation formed with the mission of enabling the exchange of code and understanding among software companies and open-source communities.” In essence, the group was spun out of Microsoft to progress on a mission of supporting open-source software that runs on Microsoft platforms. On 9 March, the organisation “announced the appointment of four members to its permanent Board of Directors”.

The announcement continued: “New appointees include Jim Jagielski, Chief Architect at SpringSource, a division of VMware, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Apache Software Foundation and an Advisory Board Member at Open Source Software Institute, and Tony Hey, Corporate Vice President of External Research for Microsoft Corporation.

Continuing on the Board as permanent Directors are interim Board members Sam Ramji, Vice President of Sonoa Systems, and Stephanie Davies Boesch, Director of Program Management of .NET Framework, Microsoft. “As a scientist and academic, I have had experience using open source and making it work,” Microsoft’s Hey said in a statement. “The CodePlex Foundation provides a structure that will help to ensure that open-source projects are widely available, supported by a dedicated team and complete with specifications, documentation and testing. I am honored to be a part of the Board of Directors of the CodePlex Foundation, where I can use the experiences gained as a founder of the Open Middleware Infrastructure Institute UK to ensure that the different communities served by the CodePlex Foundation are well served.”

Meanwhile, CodePlex said, “Departing from the interim CodePlex Board are Miguel de Icaza, vice president [at] Novell; Shaun Walker, co-founder and chief architect of DotNetNuke Corporation; Bill Staples, general manager of the Web Platform and Tools Engineering Groups [at] Microsoft; and D. Britton Johnston, [head of] SQL Server Appliance Engineering [at] Microsoft. Outgoing board members will continue to work with the CodePlex Foundation on the Board of Advisors.”

The announcement continued: “The permanent CodePlex Foundation Board will have five members, two drawn from launch sponsor Microsoft and three chosen from the open source and corporate development communities. The fifth permanent board seat will remain open while the Foundation continues discussions with potential corporate sponsors.”

“As a leading figure in the FOSS [free and open source] community, I am excited to join the CodePlex Foundation,” Jagielski said in a statement. “CodePlex has a unique opportunity to further increase the importance and acceptance of open source, especially within environments which have, up to now, been resistant to it. As the CodePlex Foundation continues to mature and evolve, being in the position to be able to help guide and foster the Foundation as a director is a huge honor.”

“We have made significant strides in assembling an excellent permanent board with strength in open-source issues, commercial software development and not-for-profit foundation leadership,” Paula Hunter, executive director of the CodePlex Foundation, said in a statement. “Each of our directors brings a distinct point of view and the rich diversity of experience necessary for the foundation to achieve its mission of bringing together open-source and corporate developers and communities.”