New Red Hat CEO’s uncommon journey to the top
N&O Innovation and Technology Newsletter: July 15, 2022
Today’s newsletter is 488 words, a 3.8-minute read.
Red Hat finds a new leader from within.
Matt Hicks was promoted to CEO of the Raleigh-based software company Tuesday, and his journey to the top spot was unique. While many chief executive officers have MBAs, or at least come from more business-y backgrounds, Hicks’s first job at Red Hat was as an IT manager.
Arvind Malhotra, a professor at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, said Hicks’ resume “speaks to having both technology and business knowledge, and that’s a unique combination.”
Red Hat employs 2,500 workers in Wake County, and its open-source computing services have been a welcomed addition to IBM, which purchased Red Hat for $34 billion in 2019.
In an introductory email to staff this week, Hicks cautioned employees to avoid complacency in an increasingly competitive open-source services market. “Our legacy of success, however, can trick us into believing it’s a given for Red Hat,” he wrote, before adding “it won’t be given to us.”
To read more about Red Hat and its newest CEO, click here
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An introduction
Hey all! I’m finishing up my first week as the N&O’s new Innovate Raleigh tech reporter with my first-ever tech newsletter. First, thanks so much for reading. Second, my editor, Dave, was kind enough to write an article about me, which I appreciate.
I’m a native of Rochester, New York, and have been covering North Carolina for about three years. Most recently, I was based in Asheville as the senior North Carolina statewide reporter for Gannett’s USA Today Network. Now, back to the newsletter.
TECH NEWS FROM THE TRIANGLE
One of the Triangle’s fastest-growing firms slashes jobs; CEO exits [TBJ]
Startup life’s dark secret: Founders often face mental health challenges [GrepBeat]
Triangle startup funding still strong, highlighted by Epic Games [Axios Raleigh]
MY FIVE MUST-READS OF THE WEEK
▪ Amazon announced its “biggest” Prime Day ever, with customers purchasing 300 million items over Tuesday and Wednesday [CNBC]
▪ Elon Musk is getting sued by Twitter, but his legal worries may not end there. The federal Securities and Exchange Commission is questioning the billionaire about how he disclosed his intent to pull out of purchasing Twitter. [Reuters]
▪ Google is slowing down hiring, another sign overall market concerns may be hampering the tech industry. Though Google still had 20,000 more employees at the end of March than it did the previous year, this hiring directive sent in an internal memo by Google CEO Anjali Pichai, comes on the heels of layoffs at big tech companies like Netflix and Coinbase. [CNN Business]
▪ Back to Amazon, some of its 950,000 U.S. employees have been trying to unionize, yet momentum to do so has started to slow down, leaving some questioning whether the organizing group Amazon Labor Union (ALU) is prepared to achieve its desired gains. As Amazon uses its deep resources to vehemently oppose unions, ALU leaders have been indecisive and unorganized according to some who’ve worked within the organization. [Bloomberg]
▪ BTS will appear in at least three future films on Disney+. ARMY rejoice! [The Verge]
OTHER TRIANGLE BUSINESS
▪ NC takes top spot in CNBC ranking of America’s best states for business [N&O]
▪ Which stores have the highest and lowest grocery prices in Raleigh? Here’s our research. [N&O]
▪ NC’s 65 and older population, on fixed-income struggling with inflation [WRAL]
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This newsletter was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate
