Suzanne Spencer-Purcell
May 4, 2026 - Jun 30, 2026
5
Decisions
0
Active Todos
3
Patterns
Categories
Decisions (5)
Everfox desktop-OS: require explicitly scoped and funded eng-investment before supporting the deal
On the Everfox desktop-OS deal, Peter framed it as a fundamentally different business (be like Ubuntu while also being like RedHat, not add desktop support to Rocky) and insisted the unknowns around hardware enablement / driver support and a dedicated lab be made explicit. His engineering-side conditions: the MSA must fix the hardware scope with out-of-scope hardware priced separately, and CIQ should proceed only with an explicit commitment to fund the engineering regardless of revenue. He tasked Max to assess technical feasibility with Nathan before committing. Relates to the prior logged Everfox decision d1ea8ed9; this is the engineering-stewardship condition layer.
Rakuten RFQ prioritized over Board prep + vulnerability response — scope-discipline enforced at line-item level
After conferring with Bjorn 5/15 afternoon, Peter reordered the week to put Rakuten RFQ response above both Tuesday 5/19 board prep and continued kernel vulnerability work. Held the boundary against scope creep in the submission itself: stripped runc nohz_full / ACC100 commits (Reqs 19, 37, 10, 38), scrubbed AI-generated CIQ Rapid Security Patch SLO Framework (48h/72h/14d commitments), softened Validated-for-[hardware] to Supported-on, kept RT kernel position to vmcore-dump-analysis-plus-recommendations only — no hands-on-keyboard custom patches. Deal size is $2M/year per Ramesh — different business with Rakuten than the existing engagement.
Three-tier Rakuten kernel proposal — 8.10 preferred, 8.6 sustaining, $800k-$1M PS for full 8.6
Push Rakuten to migrate RLC 8.6 to 8.10. Three-tier proposal: (1) preferred — full support on 8.10 with CIQ vendor coordination to accelerate hardware recertification; (2) alternative — sustaining support on 8.6 with no new patches/backports (security risk on Rakuten); (3) PS engagement — $800k-$1M/year to fund two dedicated kernel engineers for full 8.6 support, framed explicitly as Professional Services cost not mainline engineering. June renewal is the forcing function. The original handshake-pricing deal with Tarek is void.
Everfox: require ~$2M front-loaded year-one payment, reject back-loaded $600k structure
Peter is requiring a large upfront payment ($2M floor with the proposal team; $4-6M float with Greg) for the new Everfox custom work (legacy CPU support, custom desktop) and rejecting the back-loaded $600k year-one structure. The $20M/10-year deal will be restructured to front-load payments, potentially by reducing total contract value if needed. CIQ will not absorb non-reusable engineering work without immediate funding.
Engineering veto required on custom deals and new lines of business
Peter is implementing a formal process where Engineering has review-and-veto authority on custom deals and new lines of business. Engineering must be consulted to assess cost and feasibility before any deal is finalized. Discussed in Peter <> Chris 5/1 and applied immediately to the Everfox proposal restructuring on 5/4.
Related Patterns (3)
Executive Sponsorship for Strategic Partnerships
Strategic cross-company initiatives and major client partnerships require executive-level accountability to move at the right pace and ensure proper prioritization.
Small Circle for Sensitive Operations
When executing sensitive strategic operations, keep the circle of informed people as small as possible to prevent leaks that could accelerate hostile action or undermine the initiative.
Protect Engineering Capacity
When external demands threaten to overload engineering capacity, protect capacity by either requiring the demand to come with additional resources, or forcing hard prioritization choices upstream.