OSPO Restructure - New Mandate and Leadership
Situation
OSPO moved under Customer Engineering (Ryan Smith). Chris Short removed as head. New leadership: Brian Clemons (VP, RESF) and Lee Hennig (former RESF MD). New mandate: govern ALL open source CIQ touches, not just RESF. Top priority: eliminate extinction event risks. RESF board resolution target by H1 2026. Self-sufficiency goal: enable CIQ to internally reproduce Rocky Linux.
Reasoning
OSPO was ineffective - primarily engaging in unproductive conflict with RESF instead of governing open source initiatives broadly. Moving under Customer Engineering gives operational focus rather than political fighting. Extinction event framing shows this is existential risk management - if CIQ loses ability to produce Rocky Linux, the business is at risk. Brian Clemons and Lee Hennig have direct RESF relationships needed to resolve board situation. Committee must approve all RESF actions to prevent opening a Pandoras box - cautious engagement to avoid triggering community implosion.
Additional Context
Adds context to Chris Short termination. A new committee must approve all RESF actions. Defer work on less critical annoyances (e.g., Warewulf outreach) for at least six months to focus on extinction risk reduction.
People Involved
Ryan Smith, Brian Clemons, Lee Hennig, Chris Baek
Source
reflection
AI Confidence
70%
Related Context
fathom
The OSPO is being moved under Customer Engineering, and its head, Chris Short, will be removed. The OSPOs focus shifts from the RESF to governing all CIQ open source initiatives, with a priority on eliminating extinction event risks.
Outcome
Transition in progress. Already seeing positive signs from new structure and leadership.
Recorded on January 12, 2026
Decision ID: 35bc3632-bc80-4c03-95d5-dc9e69e6a3dd