14 DAY TRIAL // Suse co-founder and member of the kernel team Hubert Mantel has resigned from Novell, the company that acquired the Linux distro company in 2004. The parting wasn't what one might call friendly as Mantel announced by mass-mailing that he was parting ways with the company. The email said that he decided to leave Suse/Novell because this was not (any) longer the company that he founded 13 years ago.
Novell bought Suse Linux in 2003 for $210 million and ever since has been under pressure to build its open-source business faster. However, things have not been so good within the company lately and only last week they announced a major restructuring, under which it will cut 600 jobs, switch its focus to Linux and digital identity software, and take action to split off its Celerant consulting group.
Mantel's leaving won't affect Novell, said spokesman Bruce Lowry. "He was one of a large number of people on the kernel team. It doesn't impact our strategy or our ability to execute on it", he added.
Mantel wasn't too sentimental about leaving either and probably having to part with a company that has nothing of the original Suse Linux made his decision easier. He wasn't too concerned with what was to happen with the company either.