JBoss Founder Joins Atlanta Software Firm’s Board

ATLANTA — Marc Fleury, the founder and former chief executive officer of JBoss who quit after Red Hat acquired the software firm, is the newest member of an Atlanta firm’s advisory board.

Fleury has signed on to help Appcelerator, a provider of software designed to help firms develop Internet applications.

In an interview with InfoWorld, Fleury said he wants to make Appcelerator more competitive with other so-called rich Internet application developers such as Flex from Adobe.

"The big dog is clearly Flex," Fleury told InfoWorld. However, he added, "The fact that [the RIA market] is so crowded and there is no clear winner is also an indication there is a market of opportunity."

Fleury sold JBoss to Red Hat for $350 million in 2006, and he considers himself retired – for the most part.

"I liked the product, I liked the tech, and figured I could help,” he said of Appcelerator.

InfoWorld described Fleury as a paid advisor.

Appcelerator, a startup, is focused on Web development solutions with its open-source platform.

JBoss, now a division of Linux software development firm Red Hat, also developed open-source solutions.

“Marc has been a collaborator and a friend for years, and we’re pleased to formalize his relationship with Appcelerator,” said Jeff Haynie, chief executive officer at Appcelerator. “We believe the knowledge he developed building JBoss, to the point where it quickly became a true challenger to much larger competitors and a substantial industry force, will be invaluable to Appcelerator as we look to achieve similar dominance in our pursuit of the enterprise RIA development market.”

Ben Sabrin, another JBoss veteran, recently joined Appcelerator as vice president of strategy and business development. He was the first employee of that firm who wasn’t a founder.

Fleury quit Red Hat in February.