Red Hat Announces Appointment of Werner Knoblich as Director, Northern Europe

Red Hat, the world's premier provider of open source solutions, has appointed Werner Knoblich to the position as Director, Northern Europe. The economics graduate will be in charge of the business activities for Red Hat in the German-speaking countries, Great Britain and Ireland. He will focus on expanding business with enterprise customers and public authorities, as well as international partner development and relationships .

"The European market, particularly the German market r, is becoming increasingly important to us," says Alex Pinchev, President of International Operations at Red Hat. "With Werner Knoblich we have found someone who is extremely familiar with the market to accelerate our company's growth in the region."

After graduating in economic sciences, Werner Knoblich gathered extensive experience in expanding international business relations in the IT industry. Before moving to MainControl in the USA, his employers included IBM and the software company USU. At MainControl he was responsible for maintaining and developing global customer relationships in his position as vice president of Customer Solutions and Pre-sales. Prior to joining Red Hat, he held the function of vice president of Customer Solutions for MRO Software following its takeover of Main Control in May 2002.

"We will be making great inroads into the European markets in the years ahead. The current interest in Red Hat solutions is immense, particularly in Germany, and we know that we can offer our customers the best performance at a low cost," explains Werner Knoblich. "Our goal is to generate around 50% of our sales turnover outside of North America by 2005, and I am convinced that we will achieve this goal."

Red Hat, Inc.

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