Ramkrishna2018

Last modified by Patrick Masson on 2018/03/05 02:21

I have been part of the Free Software and Open Source community for over 20 years. I started with the GNOME Project in 1997, and have been involved primarily as someone involved in community engagement. I spent two terms as a Director of the GNOME Foundation, where I worked primarily on helping run the non-profit as well as handling some interesting issues like trademark defense amongst various others. Today, I'm primarily focused on building an application eco-system for the Linux desktop through a conference called Libre Application Summit hosted by GNOME (LAS GNOME http://las.gnome.org). I built a conference team, raised $12k, and successful ran the conference within budget in the course of eight months.

In my professional life, I worked for Intel Corporation for 20 years as a software and storage engineer, managing Unix and Linux in an enterprise IT environment consisting of thousands of physical machines. I eventually made the switch as an engineering manager for Intel's open source business unit (Open Source Technology Center) for the Tizen project, and then moved on to the Clear Linux project. Recognized for my varied background, I was put in charge of training internal product teams on the open source development model primarily for the Linux kernel. I was the community voice for the primarily open source review board of which all Intel open source software projects are approved. The role was mostly to educate product teams on community reactions and to prevent Intel's brand from being harmed due to missteps in undertanding how community works in the open source software development model. Eventually, I was put on Intel's open source marketing team in order to project Intel's accomplishments to the open source community.

Today, I work for System76, maker of laptops and desktops for the Linux platform as their community manager. I represent the company to upstream sources, open source communities and customers both virtually and in person. My current role is to build a community around the Pop!_OS operating system currently being developed by System76 engineers as part an overall strategy to create a vertical platform of tight integration between manufacturing, hardware, and the operating system to form a single cohesive product.

I offer the OSI board a broad set of skills and experience. I have a strong belief in the Free Software social movement, but equally comfortable in expounding on the scalability and benefits of the open source software development model. Having both corporate and non-profit experience, I am able to participate in any open source community as a person with authentic roots in the community. I also offer insight in the Linux desktop community of which traditionally there has been little representation in the past. Interest in the Linux desktop continues to increase as initiatives like flatpak/ubquitous apps become more prevalent and the distro model gives way to a hybrid model. A model more focused on developers and direct appeal to those who use their software.

To wit, I am an engineer, a marketer, and a community manager. I love working within the intersection of community and technology. I have a good reputation as a diplomat in a highly volatile worl of open source. Finally, I am well known and admired by stalwart members of the open source community.


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