Vice Chairman Stone Exits Novell

The Waltham, Mass.-based software vendor issued a statement late Thursday saying that Stone left "to pursue other opportunities." Stone, whose responsibilities included engineering, product management and alliances, was with Novell since March 2002. No successor has been named yet.

Stone engineered Novell's aggressive Linux push and was one of the driving forces behind the company's blockbuster $210 million acquisition of SuSe Linux. Plans call for Novell Chairman and CEO Jack Messman to assume Stone's responsibilities on an interim basis.

"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. I wish the company and all of its outstanding employees nothing but success."

Solution providers said they don't expect Stone's sudden departure to slow Novell's Linux initiatives.

Frank Basanta, director of technology at Systems Solutions, a New York-based Linux integrator, said he doesn't believe Stone's exit will affect Novell's Linux vision and commitment. "Novell is completely committed to Linux 100 percent," Basanta said. "Messman will continue to drive the strategy forward as he committed to at Novell's BrainShare event earlier this year."

Carlos Paz-Soldan, vice president of technology and services at Tenet Computer Group, a Novell partner in Toronto, said the news of Stone's departure caught him by surprise. Still, Paz-Soldan said felt confident that Novell would stay on course with its Linux strategy.

The turmoil at Novell comes as the company readies a release of its much-anticipated Linux-based desktop suite. Novell's Linux momentum has gained steam in recent weeks. On Oct. 17, Novell cut a deal to make its SuSe Linux Enterprise 9 software available directly on Dell servers.