Novell does the executive shuffle

Novell on Monday announced it has appointed Gerard Van Kemmel as chairman of Novell EMEA, and Richard Seibt as president of Novell EMEA as part of a wider reorganization that could help sharpen the company’s Linux-based server and desktop strategies.

As chairman, Van Kemmel will help set and guide Novell’s European strategy with a focus on developing the company’s relationships with government institutions, the larger system integrators, and strategic clients. Richard Seibt, who is the former CEO of SuSE Linux and president of Novell’s SuSE Linux business unit, will assume responsibility for all of Novell EMEA’s day-to-day operations.

“We believe Richard Seibt’s knowledge of the SUSE operations should enable integration to take place quickly and smoothly. This nomination shows our commitment to Novell’s Open Source and Linux strategy,” said Jack Messman, Novell’s chairman in a prepared statement.

The company also announced the appointment to general manager of Markus Rex, who was formerly SuSE’s vice president in charge of research and development. In this new role Rex, who will report directly to Novell Vice Chairman Chris Stone, will take over the development of all SuSE Linux strategies from the server to the desktop. He will also work in concert with Novell’s other business units to pull together a range of Linux-based solutions.

Also, according to company officials, 15 employees from Novell’s Ximian group, all of whom focus largely on Linux for the desktop, will be moved under the SuSE unit with the rest of the group remaining with Novell’s Resource Management Services Group.