The OpenChain Project has invested resources throughout 2022 towards improving the sustainability and continuity of our project. As part of this, the OpenChain Project Governing Board decided to initiate a chairperson election. This initiative was lead by David Marr of Qualcomm, our founding chairperson, and was designed to introduce processes for a predictable cycle of leadership rotation at the very top of the project management structure.
Jimmy Ahlberg of Ericsson was duly elected OpenChain Project Governing Board Chair on the 8th of December by his peers, the voting members of the OpenChain Project Governing Board. The board is made up of one voting representative from each of the Platinum Member companies. We currently have 24 Platinum Members spread across three continents, providing one of the most geographically diverse boards in our industry.
The OpenChain Board Chair is a pivotal position. As with everything in this project, it is a position that offers influence but not control, though in this case the influence is specifically targeted towards our long-term strategic future. Jimmy has been elected for a period of three years.
As the steward of two industry standards, one of which already has an ISO/IEC grant, the OpenChain Project Governing Board has a responsibility to ensure stability and sustainability. From fiscal decisions to overarching strategy, they meet once a quarter to assess our status and future steps. Because this is an open source project, their decisions are not taken in isolation. Our community has tremendous latitude and influence on this project, and our board has tremendous respect for what that means.
Jimmy is stepping into the role with the continued support of David and the rest of the OpenChain Project Governing Board, and our fundamental strategy remains consistent. This said, we expect and look forward to Jimmy making his mark as new chairperson, and innovating around our top-level strategy based on his insight, experience and corporate background.
If you have questions, comments or suggestions directed towards Jimmy, don’t hesitate to connect with him on one of our monthly calls, via our mailing lists or by direct mail. The leadership of the OpenChain Project is here to serve you, the community seeking to build trust in the supply chain.
To end this lengthy post, please note that the OpenChain Project Governing Board formally thanks David Marr for his exceptional work in founding and growing this project. He first brought people together to discuss the concept of standardization around open source license compliance eight years ago, and it takes a special type of determination and community-building to turn that into an executed ISO/IEC standard. It is also thanks to David that we have expanded our activities based on community feedback to other aspects of a trusted supply chain. His impact has been and continues to be immeasurable.
