Red Hat switches top sales executive

Tim Buckley, Red Hat's chief operating officer and top sales executive, has retired, and Alex Pinchev, who leads international operations for the Linux operating system seller, will take over as head of sales.

Buckley, 52, wanted to spend more time with his family and friends, Red Hat spokeswoman Leigh Day said Monday. He joined Red Hat in 1999, shortly before the company held its initial public offering.

Pinchev joined Red Hat in April as head of international operations, a position Day said he'll continue to hold along with his new job as executive vice president of worldwide sales. However, Pinchev won't take on Buckley's title of chief operating officer, Day said.

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"The board took a look at our management team, and...it wasn't necessary to appoint a new person as COO," Day said. "In the past year, we've hired Tom Rabon as executive vice president of corporate affairs and John Young as vice president of marketing."

At Red Hat, Pinchev will oversee a sales operation that is aiming chiefly at customers willing to pay for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), which the company sells in the form of an annual subscription to technical support and software updates. While the company no longer offers a free version of its corporate product, Red Hat said the vast majority of RHEL customers renew their subscriptions.

Although Red Hat has headquarters in Raleigh, N.C., Pinchev will remain based in Washington, D.C., Day said.