Novell ousts CEO and CFO

President asked to step up to the plate with immediate effect...

Open source software vendor Novell has named Ronald Hovsepian as its new CEO, replacing Jack Messman, who was ousted today, with immediate effect.

Messman had been with Novell since day one.

Novell has also axed former CFO Joseph Tibetts Jr, claiming the changes at the top are an attempt to turn around a period of disappointing performances.

Thomas Plaskett, who has been installed as non-executive chairman, said in a statement: "The board concluded that a management change would be the best way to accelerate the execution of our growth strategy. Ron is the ideal choice to lead the company as we continue with our transition to Linux-based products."

Hovsepian was a 17-year veteran at IBM prior to joining Novell, where he has served as COO and president since October 2005, having originally joined the company in 2003.

Hovsepian said his priorities going forward will be to maintain a sharp focus on delivering Linux-based products to meet customer demands.