Introducing Microsoft’s Go-To Guy for Open Source Communities

Gianugo Rabellino is a name that’s bound to already be familiar to those in open source communities around the world, and one that will become even better known in the future.

Last year, Jean Paoli, Microsoft’s general manager for Interoperability Strateg, announced that Rabellino was relocating from Italy to Redmond to take on a new role, that of senior director of open source communities for the software giant.

Essentially, the role attributed to the former vice president of the Apache XML Project Management Committee and founder and chief executive officer of Sourcesense is that of go-to guy for open source communities in their relationship with the Redmond company.

In the coming weeks, Rabellino will be heading back to Europe on a tour designed to foster deeper relationships between Microsoft and local open source communities across the continent.

“Gianugo possess a deep understanding of open source technologies and platforms, and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to a group of passionate and committed individuals who share his same enthusiasm for interoperability and openness between Microsoft and non-Microsoft platforms.

“As you know, work to deepen interoperability across open source solutions is prevalent across Microsoft and, as the go-to guy at Microsoft for all things related to open source communities, Gianugo is headed to Europe to meet with folk from the field and communities on a ‘listen and learn’ trip,” a Microsoft spokesperson told me earlier this week via email.

Make sure to watch the video embedded below to get an idea of what Gianugo’s role with Microsoft is all about, and additional details about his upcoming mission across the pond.

Joining Microsoft’s new go-to guy for open source communities in the video are Stephen Walli, technical director for the Outercurve Foundation, and Garrett Serack, an Open Source developer at Microsoft.