New challanges for Rod Johnson, SpringSource CEO

On July 3rd, 2012 Rod Johnson, the australian creator of the Spring Framework and co-founder of SpringSource, announced on his twitter account and officially on the Springsource blog that he is going to leave VMware.

Rod Johnson, Founder and CEO of SpringSource, with over 15 years of experience in Technology and management, and author of “Expert One-on-One J2EE Design and Development” and “J2EE without EJB.” joined VMWare in august 2009 when SpringSource was acquired by VMWare.

The Spring Framework is an open source application framework and Inversion of Control container for the Java platform.

SpringSource is a provider of Web application development and management services, and seat of power in the Java community, with the acquisition, VMWare assured a strategy for connecting with developers as Spring has become the dominant programming model for enterprise Java.

The personal side is important. Spring and SpringSource has occupied more than 10 years of my life. From developing the core architectural ideas in 2001, publishing Expert 1:1 J2EE Design and Development in 2002, founding the Spring Framework open source project in 2003, cofounding SpringSource in 2004, raising funding and relocating to the Bay Area in 2007, building out the company, joining forces with VMware in 2009 and helping my group to succeed within a larger organization, it’s been a wild and engrossing ride that I could never have imagined when I wrote the first lines of BeanFactory code in my study in London in 2001.

Over those years, my role has changed. I’ve enjoyed becoming more involved in the business side of technology, and working with and learning from a great group of investors, executives and business colleagues.

Ten years is a long time. I’m ready for some different challenges. I’ll always be part of the Spring community, and will continue to contribute ideas. And like any parent that has helped raise a child to maturity, I am proud and excited to see the new places where Spring will go.

said Rod Johnson, chief executive officer, SpringSource and adds on his twitter:

I left VMware, not SpringSource 🙂