James Whitehurst

Biography

James "Jim" Whitehurst is president and CEO of Red Hat, the world’s leading provider of open source enterprise IT products and services. Whitehurst is an avid advocate for open software as a catalyst for business innovation. With a background in business development, finance, and global operations, Whitehurst has proven expertise in helping companies flourish—even in the most challenging economic and business environments. Since joining in January, 2008, he has more than doubled the company’s revenue. Under his leadership, Red Hat was named to Forbes’ list of “The World’s Most Innovative Companies” in 2015, 2014, and 2012; added to Standard and Poor’s (S&P) 500 stock index in 2009; and named one of the best places to work by Glassdoor in 2014. In June 2015, Whitehurst published a book with Harvard Business Review Press entitled "The Open Organization: Igniting Passion and Performance" showing how open principles of management—based on transparency, participation, and community—can help organizations navigate and succeed in a fast-paced connected era.

Research Interest

Prior to Red Hat, Whitehurst spent six-years at Delta Air Lines where he oversaw all aspects of airline operations and drove significant international expansion as chief operating officer. Before Delta, Jim held several corporate development leadership roles at The Boston Consulting Group, working in the Chicago, Hong Kong, and Shanghai offices, and as a partner in the Atlanta office with numerous clients across a wide range of industries.