“No matter why Fernand Sarrat left Linuxcare, or why the IPO
was delayed, there’s only one question that matters: will investors
stick with the company?”
“The rumor mill has been in high gear since April 7, when
Linuxcare announced the departure of CEO Fernand Sarrat. In various
online reports, anonymous sources have suggested that Sarrat was
ousted by Linuxcare, a Linux support firm based in San Francisco,
for causes ranging from over-reporting revenue to sexual
impropriety. According to some reports, Linuxcare CIO Douglas
Nassaur was also on the way out. This news, combined with
Linuxcare’s postponed IPO, smelled like disaster to many. But as
the dust settled and Linuxcare assembled its new office of the CEO,
the choices for that office indicated that investors were sticking
with the company.”
In an interview with LinuxWorld today, new CEO Pat Lambs
repeated that the events surrounding any Linuxcare employee’s
departure are confidential. However, she did state emphatically
that “there are absolutely no issues with revenue.” She also said
that she didn’t know how rumors about Nassaur’s ouster got started,
and confirmed that the CIO is still employed with Linuxcare. She
said the company was not, as one report suggested, trying to find a
way to oust Nassaur without paying the generous severance package
that his contract provides.”
“Lambs confirmed that Linuxcare does intend to offer an IPO, but
said that the date was still unpredictable, given the choppy seas
in the tech market these days.”