Paul Cormier (engineer)

Paul J. Cormier is a business executive and chairman of Red Hat. He previously was chief executive officer (CEO) from April 2020 to July 2022.^[1][2][3]

Paul J. Cormier
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Fitchburg State University (BS) Rochester Institute of Technology (MBA)
Title	Chairman, Red Hat

Early life and education

Cormier was born in Fitchburg on November 4, 1959. His interest in computers started during his high school years when his father got him a summer job in Digital Equipment Corporation where he kept working until his college years. He attended the Fitchburg State University and did his master's degree at Rochester Institute of Technology. After graduation, he participated in Graduate Engineering Education Program of IBM and Digital. ^[4][5][6]

Career at Red Hat

Cormier joined Red Hat in May 2001 as Executive Vice President of Engineering and initiated the commercialization of open source products by promoting cloud services. He also helped the creation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.^[7][8]

Becoming CEO, then Chairman

Cormier was appointed CEO of Red Hat on 6 April 2020, replacing Jim Whitehurst. He was replaced by Matt Hicks on 12 July 2022 and became chairman of the company.^[9]

Retirement

Cormier retired on April 1, 2024, after 24 years with Red Hat.^[10]

References

1. "Red Hat Names Matt Hicks President and Chief Executive Officer". www.businesswire.com. 2022-07-12. Archived from the original on 2022-07-12. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
2. "Red Hat names longtime exec Paul Cormier as CEO, replacing Jim Whitehurst". WRAL TechWire. 2020-04-06. Archived from the original on 2020-04-07. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
3. Ranger, Steve. "Open-source giant Red Hat has a new CEO". ZDNet. Archived from the original on 2020-04-14. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
4. "Paul J. Cormier - Biography". Archived from the original on 2021-12-28. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
5. "Paul J Cormier, Red Hat Inc: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 2021-12-28. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
6. "Get to know Red Hat president and CEO, Paul Cormier". Archived from the original on 2021-12-28. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
7. "Paul Cormier, President and Chief Executive Officer, Red Hat". Archived from the original on 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
8. "On OpenStack and open source". Archived from the original on 2021-12-28. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
9. "Red Hat shuffles top management: CEO now chairman, is replaced by tech VP | WRAL TechWire". wraltechwire.com. July 13, 2022. Archived from the original on July 16, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
10. "Red Hat leadership update". redhat.com. March 21, 2024. Archived from the original on March 22, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2024.

Business positions
Preceded by Jim Whitehurst	President and CEO of Red Hat April 6, 2020 – July 12, 2022	Succeeded by Matt Hicks