CollabNet, the leader in open Application Lifecycle Management (ALM), today announced the appointment of Flint Brenton, a distinguished executive with transformational experience at growing software businesses, as the Company’s new President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Brenton will also join the Company’s Board of Directors.

Rob Amen, a Managing Director at Vector Capital and member of CollabNet’s Board of Directors said, “Flint is a deeply experienced technology executive with a strong track record of accelerating the growth of infrastructure software businesses. After our first year as the new owners of CollabNet, we want to pause and thank our wonderful employees for their commitment to excellence and for delivering a solid year of growth and profitability. Now, we are raising the stakes in year two, and we are confident that Flint is the right leader to deliver on our growth expectations.”

Mr. Brenton has extensive experience leading innovative software companies and has an exceptional track record of accelerating growth through product innovation and sales execution. Most recently, he served as president and CEO of AccelOps, a provider of a leading IT operations analytics platform for cloud and virtualized infrastructures. Prior to that, he served as president and CEO of Tidal Software, a leading application automation software solution provider, which later was acquired by Cisco.  After the Cisco acquisition, Mr. Brenton served in various follow-on capacities, including Vice President of Advanced Services and as Senior Vice President of Engineering for Cisco’s cloud-based Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) software offerings.  At both AccelOps and Tidal Software, Mr. Brenton more than tripled sales under his tenure while focusing both companies on disruptive product introductions.

During his 25-year career, Mr. Brenton also served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of NetIQ’s Security and Administration business unit and has held various leadership positions at NetIQ, Compaq Computer Corporation, BMC Software, and IBM. He received a master’s in business and public management from Rice University and a bachelor of science degree from Mount Union College.

“I am excited to join CollabNet and humbled to be part of a legacy that has transformed the software development tools industry,” said Flint. “CollabNet is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the significant changes in the rapidly growing software development and DevOps markets, and I look forward to working with this talented team to continue to build upon CollabNet’s momentum of innovation and leadership.”

Mr. Brenton succeeds Bill Portelli, CollabNet’s co-founder and CEO since 1999.  During his fifteen years of leadership, Mr. Portelli oversaw the invention of Subversion, the world’s leading version control system, launched CollabNet’s flagship product, TeamForge, and pioneered the open source software development revolution. Bill will continue to serve as a Director of CollabNet’s Board and will assist with all matters of strategy and growth.

Mr. Portelli commented, “It has been a privilege and an honor to work with CollabNet’s incredibly talented and dedicated employees and loyal customers. With the release of TeamForge 8.0 and growth capital from Vector secured, I feel that now is a good time for me to let go of my day-to-day operational responsibilities and to take on a more strategic role. Flint is a highly qualified executive with the right expertise and leadership qualities to further transform the Company and accelerate its growth. I am excited about the future of Collabnet and I look forward to continuing to serve as an active Director.”

Mr. Amen said, “We want to thank Bill for his strong leadership as the CEO of CollabNet over the past fifteen years. Bill built an incredible company and CollabNet would simply not be where it is today without his hard work, leadership, and dedication to the Company, its employees, and its customers. I look forward to continuing to partner with Bill as a fellow Director.”