--- title: Matt Zimmerman leaving Canonical description: I joined Canonical in June of 2004 as a member of the founding team, before we even had a name for the company. In June 2011, after just over seven years as Ubuntu CTO, I will be leaving Canonical in search of new challenges. It has been my privilege to have played a part in […] url: https://canonical.com/blog/matt-zimmerman-leaving-canonical?format=md --- 1. [Blog](https://canonical.com/blog) 2. Article --- [Canonical](https://canonical.com/blog/author/canonical "More about Canonical") 6 May 2011 # Matt Zimmerman leaving Canonical --- Share the article I joined Canonical in June of 2004 as a member of the founding team, before we even had a name for the company. In June 2011, after just over seven years as Ubuntu CTO, I will be leaving Canonical in search of new challenges. It has been my privilege to have played a part in creating Ubuntu and Canonical. It has been a pleasure to work with so many talented, dedicated and fun people over the years. I am immensely proud of what we have accomplished together: bringing free software to people, places and organizations which have derived so much benefit from it. The Ubuntu engineering organization, which we call Platform, is a highly capable and motivated team, the best I’ve ever worked with in my career. Building and leading this team has been an incredibly rewarding experience for me. I have every confidence in their ability to support Canonical’s mission in the years to come, and I’m excited to see how they will surprise me in the future. Seven years on, the time is right for me to move on from this role, where I enjoy so much support from my colleagues, and take a risk on something new. I will take with me many fond memories, from all-night global hacking sessions driving toward a ship date, to casual singing and playing music at our many face-to-face events. I intend to remain involved in the Ubuntu community, retaining my elected position on the governing Technical Board, and perhaps to make the occasional technical contribution as a volunteer. I will be spending the next week in Budapest at the Ubuntu Developer Summit, where I look forward to celebrating with friends and colleagues, and beginning the transition to this new role in the project. I wish the best for all of my Canonical friends in the future! Matt [Get in touch Interested in running Ubuntu in your organization?](https://ubuntu.com/about/contact-us/form) ## Sign up for our newsletter Get the latest Canonical news and updates in your inbox. Work email: \*I agree to receive information about Canonical's products and services. By submitting this form, I confirm that I have read and agree to [Canonical's Privacy Policy](https://canonical.com/legal/dataprivacy). Sign up ## Share on --- ## Related posts [### Canonical joins the Open Secure AI Alliance](https://canonical.com/blog/open-secure-ai-alliance) Canonical is now part of the Open Secure AI Alliance, announced by NVIDIA with partners across cloud computing, cybersecurity, enterprise software, open source foundations, and... [Canonical](https://canonical.com/blog/author/canonical) 28 August 2026 [### Arduino® VENTUNO™ Q is available for pre-order with Ubuntu pre-installed](https://canonical.com/blog/arduino-ventuno-q-is-available-for-pre-order-with-ubuntu-pre-installed) London, UK – August 25, 2026 – Following our initial collaboration announcement in March 2026, Canonical and Arduino (a subsidiary of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.) are excited... [Canonical](https://canonical.com/blog/author/canonical) 25 August 2026 [### Advantech AOM-2721 is now Ubuntu Certified](https://canonical.com/blog/advantech-aom-2721-ubuntu-certified) Canonical announces that the Advantech AOM-2721 is officially joining the list of Ubuntu Certified Hardware. [Mikhail Khazov](https://canonical.com/blog/author/khazov-m) 13 August 2026 [### Canonical integrates NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning with Ubuntu for always-on AI agents](https://canonical.com/blog/nvidia-nemotron-3-5-lightning) Canonical is pleased to announce that NVIDIA’s newly introduced NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning, an open, customizable model built for always-on AI agents, is now available on... [Canonical](https://canonical.com/blog/author/canonical) 11 August 2026