Tim Yeaton CEO of Black Duck Software

Black Duck Software, Inc., provider of products and services for accelerating software development through the managed use of open source software, announced that Timothy Yeaton has joined the company as chief executive officer (CEO). Yeaton comes to Black Duck with more than 25 years of software industry experience, most recently as Chief Marketing Officer of EqualLogic, a privately-held storage systems vendor which was acquired by Dell in 2007 for $1.4B.

Yeaton joins Black Duck at a time when companies are recognizing the growing value of using open source software to accelerate time to market and control costs. Black Duck helps companies speed development through a hybrid development process that combines the managed use of open source with internally developed and commercial code. At Black Duck, Yeaton will be responsible for helping the company to capitalize on market opportunities in hybrid development with open source, developing strategic partnerships and positioning the company for sustained growth.

"Black Duck Software is the pioneer and leader in open source software knowledge, code management and compliance and has built a good track record of growth," said Yeaton. "The company has a strong brand and position in the market, and the opportunity to see a significant ramp-up in its business despite current economic difficulties. It’s the kind of company I look for: innovative, ahead of the pack and well-positioned with customers and the larger technical community."

"Red Hat has long championed the widespread adoption of open source software and is an investor in Black Duck, which shares this vision. We are pleased to see Tim join as their new CEO," said Paul Cormier, President of Products and Technologies at Red Hat.

Prior to EqualLogic, Yeaton was senior vice president of worldwide marketing and general manager of enterprise products at open source software leader Red Hat. While at Red Hat, Yeaton built the company’s first integrated marketing organization, helped drive the company’s acquisition of JBoss, and helped double the company’s market capitalization and revenues while there.

Previously, Yeaton served as CEO, President, and Director at Avaki Corporation, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Macromedia, and Vice President and General Manager at Compaq and Digital. Tim has also been a long-time proponent of open source and open systems over the course of his career.

Yeaton received a BS, summa cum laude from Roger Williams University and is a member of the University’s President Advisory Board. He received his MBA from Babson College. Yeaton currently serves on the board of directors for the N.H. High Technology Council, and previously served on the board of directors with The Open Software Foundation, The Open Group and Avaki Corporation.