Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2000 09:12:25 -0500 From: Maribel Lopez <mlopez@schwartz-pr.com> To: <lwn@lwn.net> Subject: Red Hat Promotes Kevin Thompson to Chief Financial Officer FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information: Melissa London Bryan Scanlon Red Hat, Inc. Schwartz Communications for Red Hat (919) 547-0012 (781) 684-0770 melissa@redhat.com redhat@schwartz-pr.com RED HAT PROMOTES KEVIN THOMPSON TO CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Vice President of Operations and Industry Veteran Takes Charge of Global Operations and Finance RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--November 9, 2000--Red Hat, Inc. (Nasdaq:RHAT), the leader in developing, deploying and managing open source Internet infrastructure solutions, today announced the promotion of Kevin Thompson to the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Thompson, who joined Red Hat as Vice President of Operations in October 2000, has more than 13 years of experience managing operations, financial transactions such as debt and equity offerings, and mergers and acquisitions through his position as a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. "In just a short time it was compellingly clear that Kevin had the skills, experience and enthusiasm to assume the operational helm as CFO," said Matthew Szulik, president and CEO of Red Hat. "Kevin brings tremendous experience with global finance to Red Hat’s executive team and is an enormous asset to our rapidly growing company." Thompson formerly served as a partner in the Global Technology Industry Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he directed stock offerings and oversaw mergers and acquisitions at public and private technology companies. Prior to his position at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thompson served as a senior manager for Arthur Andersen LLP for 10 years, overseeing public offerings and directing projects for multi-national companies in North America, Latin American and Southeast Asia. Thompson is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration with highest honors from the University of Oklahoma. "In the time I have been involved with Red Hat, I have become convinced of Red Hat’s ability to revolutionize the software industry," said Thompson. "As Red Hat’s CFO, I am confident that Red Hat is on track to meet the goals we’ve communicated to the public markets--improved gross margins, continued 100 percent revenue growth and profitability by the end of calendar year 2001." Kevin Thompson and the Red Hat executive team will be presenting at today’s investment community meeting. A special listen-only audio Web cast of the meeting will be available at www.redhat.com during the meeting, scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. To participate, simply click on ‘‘Investors’’ at www.redhat.com. Red Hat, Inc. Founded in 1994, Red Hat (Nasdaq:RHAT), is the leader in development, deployment and management of Linux and open source solutions for Internet infrastructure ranging from small embedded devices to high availability clusters and secure Web servers. In addition to the award-winning Red Hat Linux server operating system, Red Hat is the principle provider of GNU-based developer tools and support solutions for a wide variety of embedded processors. Red Hat provides run-time solutions, developer tools, Linux kernel expertise and offers support and engineering services to organizations in all embedded and Linux markets. Red Hat applies its technological leadership to create open source solutions for all points on the Internet and in pervasive computing environments, offers services backed by the best understanding of open source and the most comprehensive resources, and delivers the brand of a widely trusted open source leader and corporate partner. Red Hat offers users one single, trusted point of contact and a common platform for developing, deploying and managing open source across the Internet and devices that connect to the Internet. Red Hat is based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. and has offices worldwide. Please visit Red Hat on the Web at www.redhat.com. For investor inquiries, contact Lippert/Heilshorn at (212) 838-3777. # # # LINUX is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. RED HAT is a registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc. All other names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Forward-looking statements in this press release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Investors are cautioned that statements in this press release that are not strictly historical statements, including, without limitation, management’s plans and objectives for future operations and management’s assessment of market factors, constitute forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, product plans and performance, the ability to continue to develop the Linux kernel and other software, reliance upon strategic relationships, Red Hat’s dependence upon an open source business model, reliance upon independent third-party Linux developers, management of growth, expansion of Red Hat’s business focus and operations, the possibility of undetected software errors, the enforceability of the GNU General Public License and other licenses under which Red Hat’s products are developed and licensed, the scarcity of Linux-based applications, the risks of economic downturns generally, and in Red Hat’s industry specifically, the risks associated with competition and competitive pricing pressures, the viability of the Internet, and other risks detailed in Red Hat’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which may be accessed through the SEC’s Web site at http://www.sec.gov.