About the Conference

The Open Source Software CEO Summit brings together CEOs from leading Open Source Software companies to discuss the challenges, possibilities, and future of Open Source. The conference will take place on Friday, November 14th, 2008. The purpose of this summit is twofold: (1) to have leaders of open source businesses discuss current challenges and opportunities facing the industry and (2) to have these leaders engage with the Harvard Business School community and the broader Boston technology community, including venture capitalists, investment bankers, and analysts.

The format of the conference reflects its dual-purpose nature. The morning sessions will consist of small-group sessions and discussions limited to the to top 40-50 leaders from open source businesses on topics of business models and community management. The afternoon session will open up the conference to the broader HBS, Boston and Cambridge communities and will feature panels of venture capitalists and investments bankers providing their perspectives on the unique challenges of starting and growing open source ventures.

Organizing Committee

• Sunil Nagaraj, Conference Co-Chair (HBS ’09)
• Sid Shenai, Conference Co-Chair (HBS ’09)
• Raj Ramachandran, Director of Marketing (HBS ’09)
• Josh Hix, Director of Panels (HBS ’10)
• Karim Lakhani, Conference Advisor (Professor)
• Doug Levin, External Conference Advisor