KāpitiTech: From Silicon Valley to Sustainable Innovation with Michael Tiemann

Join us on Thursday 20th of March, for an inspiring and thought-provoking session with Michael Tiemann, a visionary entrepreneur and pioneer of the open source movement.  

As Co-Founder of Cygnus Solutions- later acquired by Red Hat, where he became CTO and Vice President of Open Source Affairs- Michael has been at the forefront of business transformation, open source innovation, sustainable agriculture, and education reform. He has applied open source principles to create scalable and impactful solutions across industries. 

Beyond his entrepreneurial work, Michael has served on the boards of Red Hat, the Open Source Initiative, and the GNOME Foundation, shaping the future of open source technology and its role in business and society.

What to Expect:

• Hear Michael’s journey from Silicon Valley to sustainable agriculture, exploring how open source thinking can drive innovation in any industry. 
• Open floor and design thinking- bring your ideas, questions and challenges for a thought-provoking conversation on applying open source principles to business growth.  

Whether you're a startup founder, business owner, product leader, or innovator, this session will give you fresh perspectives on how to scale and future-proof your business.

About Michael Tiemann:

Michael Tiemann is a true open source software pioneer.  He made his first major open source contribution almost 40 years ago by writing the GNU C++ compiler and debugger.  His early work led to the creation of leading open source technologies.  In 1989, Tiemann's technical expertise and entrepreneurial spirit led him to co-found Cygnus Solutions, the first company to provide commercial support for open source software.  During his ten years at Cygnus, Tiemann contributed in a number of roles from President to hacker, helping lead the company from fledgling start-up to an admired open source leader.  When Cygnus was acquired by Red Hat in 2000, Tiemann became Red Hat's Chief Technical Officer (CTO) before becoming its first Vice President of Open Source Affairs.  In that role Tiemann provides technology, strategy, and policy advice to executives in the public and private sectors.

Tiemann is one of many millions who read "The Omnivore’s Dilemma" when it was published in 2006, but perhaps one of only a few to try to connect the dots between the practices of sustainable agriculture and the best practices of open source software.  He went looking to share his insights with experts in the field (literally) just at the right time, as the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) was in the process of establishing its Board of Advisors.  He joined as a founding board member, and in the 10 years since then the rate of research and fundraising has grown by nearly two orders of magnitude, and it has become a national role model and leader.

He practices To-Shin Do Ninjutsu as a Sandan (3rd-degree Black Belt) and Brazilian Jiujitsu as a White Belt.  He lives in Te Aro, Wellington with his wife Amy Tiemann, PhD.

About KāpitiTech:

KāpitiTech is here to connect the local Kāpiti tech network.  With the support of Kāpiti Coast District Council, we’re working to develop the local tech cluster to collaborate, share knowledge and grow.  

If you have an idea for an event, have feedback or would like to learn more, get in touch by emailing kapititechnz@gmail.com, we would love to hear from you!