Stormy Peters
Encyclopedia
Stormy Peters is an information technology
industry analyst
and prominent free and open source software
(FOSS) advocate, promoting business use of FOSS. She advocates as a consultant and conference speaker. She co-founded, and was later appointed as executive director
of the GNOME Foundation
.
Peters' real first name is Robyn; however, she has not gone by that name since her childhood.
with a major in Computer Science
at Rice University
and initially worked as a software engineer
for Hewlett-Packard
in their Unix
development team.
In approximately 1999 Peters was managing the HP-UX
desktop development and became aware of the GNOME
project when the team decided to provide GNOME on HPUX. Peters had a role in explaining the Open Source business and intellectual property
models to Hewlett-Packard management. She later founded the Hewlett-Packard Open Source Program office. In 2000 she became one of the founding members of the GNOME Foundation Advisory board.
In December 2005 Peters became Director of Product Management for OpenLogic, an Open Source services company. In July 2008 Peters left OpenLogic and became the executive director of the GNOME Foundation. Her role was in coordinating with sponsors, business development
and marketing
. In November 2010 she left to Mozilla. Since August 2011 she is a member of the GNOME Board of Directors.
Peters has given keynote
talks to many Open Source conferences including the Open Source Business Conference, linux.conf.au
, the 2008 and 2009 GNOME.Asia summit in Beijing
and Ho Chi Minh
respectively, and the Ohio Linuxfest
in 2010.
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
industry analyst
Industry analyst
An industry analyst performs primary and secondary market research within an industry such as information technology, consulting or insurance. Analysts assess sector trends, create segment taxonomies, size markets, prepare forecasts, and develop industry models...
and prominent free and open source software
Free and open source software
Free and open-source software or free/libre/open-source software is software that is liberally licensed to grant users the right to use, study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code...
(FOSS) advocate, promoting business use of FOSS. She advocates as a consultant and conference speaker. She co-founded, and was later appointed as executive director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
of the GNOME Foundation
GNOME Foundation
The GNOME Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, coordinating the efforts in the GNOME project.-Purpose:...
.
Peters' real first name is Robyn; however, she has not gone by that name since her childhood.
Career
Peters completed a Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
with a major in Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
at Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
and initially worked as a software engineer
Software engineer
A software engineer is an engineer who applies the principles of software engineering to the design, development, testing, and evaluation of the software and systems that make computers or anything containing software, such as computer chips, work.- Overview :...
for Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
in their Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
development team.
In approximately 1999 Peters was managing the HP-UX
HP-UX
HP-UX is Hewlett-Packard's proprietary implementation of the Unix operating system, based on UNIX System V and first released in 1984...
desktop development and became aware of the GNOME
GNOME
GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...
project when the team decided to provide GNOME on HPUX. Peters had a role in explaining the Open Source business and intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
models to Hewlett-Packard management. She later founded the Hewlett-Packard Open Source Program office. In 2000 she became one of the founding members of the GNOME Foundation Advisory board.
In December 2005 Peters became Director of Product Management for OpenLogic, an Open Source services company. In July 2008 Peters left OpenLogic and became the executive director of the GNOME Foundation. Her role was in coordinating with sponsors, business development
Business development
A subset of the field of commerce, business development comprises a number of techniques and responsibilities which aim at:1. Researching new types of business/products/services with an emphasis on identifying gaps in the mitigation of needs of potential clients .2. Attracting new customers3...
and marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
. In November 2010 she left to Mozilla. Since August 2011 she is a member of the GNOME Board of Directors.
Peters has given keynote
Keynote
A keynote in literature, music, or public speaking establishes the principal underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address...
talks to many Open Source conferences including the Open Source Business Conference, linux.conf.au
Linux.conf.au
linux.conf.au is Australasia's regional Linux and Open Source conference. It is a roaming conference, held in a different city every year, coordinated by Linux Australia and organised by local volunteers....
, the 2008 and 2009 GNOME.Asia summit in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
respectively, and the Ohio Linuxfest
Ohio LinuxFest
The Ohio LinuxFest is an annual technology conference and expo held in Columbus, Ohio. The event is dedicated to discussion and development of the Linux operating system and other open source software projects...
in 2010.