An Irishman has emerged as the new chief financial officer (CFO) of network software giant Novell’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) operations, siliconrepublic.com has learned.
Former Ernst & Young accountant Richard Commins joined Novell following the company’s acquisition of Cambridge Technology Partners where he was western area controller.
Since joining Novell Commins held treasury responsibilities for the company’s Irish operations, which employs 125 people. During that time he developed a robust understanding of the EMEA business in the role of EMEA business controller and has gained strong global financial experience within the EMEA senior leadership team.
Last week Novell replaced CEO Jack Messman with new CEO Ronald Hovsepian. It also replaced its CFO with an interim CFO and instigated a search for a new permanent CFO.
The company said the move was made in order to accelerate its growth plans following a period of disappointing financial results, particularly in the company’s Linux business.
Speaking with siliconrepublic.com, Hovsepian said of the changes: “Given the current market environment, the board wanted to make the leadership change happen now. Now is the right time to bring in new leadership to accelerate the company’s focus.”
Hovsepian said that simplification of technology for the company’s smaller business and enterprise community was a prerequisite.
“We want to focus on simplification and making operational excellence come to life. This means making IT renewals easier and empowering employees faster.”
He said that the company will retain its focus on Linux and the company’s ‘Code 10’ announcement in July will be driven heavily with the trend towards virtualisation in mind.
Commins and his family will be relocating from Dublin to Novell’s EMEA headquarters in Bracknell over the summer months.
By John Kennedy
