The three appointees are experts in the industry and are recognized for their unique know-how: Heinrich Rodewig, JD, partner of the internationally renowned law firm Haarmann, Hemmelrath & Partner, as new Chairman of the Supervisory Board; Michael Laurim, Managing Director of Silicon Graphics GmbH (SGI) in Grasbrunn/Munich, Germany; and Peter Mark Droste, Managing Director of Compaq Computer GmbH in Dornach, Germany. These appointments are subject to final approval by the annual shareholders' meeting of SUSE Linux AG.
"Heinrich Rodewig, JD, is an experienced international legal expert and the perfect fit as Chairman of the Supervisory Board," said Roland Dyroff, Chief Executive Officer of SUSE Linux AG. "With company executives Michael Laurim and Peter Mark Droste, we succeeded in gaining two leaders of the German IT sector, further emphasizing the growing importance of Linux and our business model based on the Open Source philosophy. The appointment of Laurim and Droste is the result of our mutually beneficial partnerships with SGI and Compaq."
Silicon Graphics Inc., the world's leading supplier for technical and visual computing, and Compaq, one of the world's largest IT companies, recently joined the ranks of SUSEstrategic investors. "The clear commitment of Compaq and SGI in Linux has lead to a know-how transfer from which all involved parties benefit," continued Roland Dyroff.
Johannes Nussbickel, Chief Financial Officer SUSE Linux AG, interpreted the new composition of the Supervisory Board as a clear gain in competency. "The new members enhance the Supervisory Board of SUSE Linux AG with their extensive IT know-how and comprehensive legal competency. This will contribute considerably to an increase in company value."
"SUSE Linux AG has played a major role in the development of the European Linux market," said Heinrich Rodewig, JD, and new Chairman of the Supervisory Board. "SUSE professional and highly motivated management team and staff have provided an essential contribution in this respect. With my extensive professional experience in large and medium-scale companies, I am pleased to assist in the further development of SUSE Linux AG."
About Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation, Houston/Texas, is the largest supplier of computing systems in the world. The Fortune-Global-100 company develops, manufactures and markets hardware, software, solutions and services including leading solutions for business IT, fault-tolerant, business-critical applications, commercial PCs, notebooks and Internet devices for the professional user and PCs and notebooks for private users.
Compaq products and services are sold and supported in more than 200 countries through an international network of authorized marketing partners and direct through Compaq's e-commerce Web site at http://www.compaq.com.
About SGI
Known as a strong advocate for open technology, SGI is committed to contributing technology from its core competencies in visualization and high-performance computing to the open source community. SGI provides a broad range of high-performance computing and advanced graphics solutions that enable customers to understand and conquer their toughest computing problems. Headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., with offices worldwide, the company is located on the Web at http://www.sgi.com.
SUSE is a registered trademark of SUSE Linux AG. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
About Novell
Novell, Inc. is a leading provider of information solutions that deliver secure identity management (Novell® Nsure™), Web application development (Novell exteNd™) and cross-platform networking services (Novell Nterprise™), all supported by strategic consulting and professional services (Novell NgageSM). Active in the open source community with its Ximian and SUSE Linux brands, Novell is firmly committed to open source and offers comprehensive Linux products and services for the enterprise, from the desktop to the server. Novell's vision of one Net - a world without information boundaries - helps customers realize the value of their information securely and economically. For more information, call Novell's Customer Response Center at (888) 321-4CRC (4272) or visit http://www.novell.com. Press should visit http://www.novell.com/pressroom.
Novell is a registered trademarks; Nsure, exteNd and Nteprise are trademarks; and Ngage is a service mark of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. SUSE is a registered trademark of SUSE Linux AG. * All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.