The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, has announced that founder of the Apache Software Foundation is joining the organization as executive director of the Hyperledger Project – a collaborative effort to establish, build and sustain an open, distributed ledger platform for the enterprise.

Brian Behlendorf will bring his deep knowledge and experience to the Hyperledger project. A veteran of free and open software projects, he was a primary developer of the Apache Web server, the most popular web server software on the Internet. He has also served on the board of the Mozilla Foundation since 2003 and the Electronic Frontier Foundation since 2013. He was the founding CTO of CollabNet and CTO of the World Economic Forum. Most recently, Behlendorf was a managing director at Mithril Capital Management LLC, a global technology investment firm.

“Brian’s contributions to open source software changed the web. Now he will do the same thing for this decade’s most promising technology - the blockchain,” said Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation. “Brian’s open source roots and proven technology acumen will enable the Hyperledger project to grow a community that transcends any individual industry and becomes the world’s standard for shared ledgers.”

Founded in December 2015, the Hyperledger Project aims to create common distributed ledger technology that is shared, transparent and decentralized, making it ideal for application in finance and several other areas such as manufacturing, banking, insurance and the Internet of Things. By creating a cross-industry open standard for distributed ledgers, any digital exchange with value can securely and cost-effectively be tracked and traded.

"Distributed ledgers are essential to the next generation of the Internet technology stack.  The Hyperledger Project is all about bringing together developers to build common distributed ledger technology, a rising tide that will lift all boats," said Brian Behlendorf, executive director for Hyperledger Project. "Open Source projects are great for this kind of work, but it takes a real community to fulfill that promise, and it will require collaborating with our friends in the blockchain technology community.  We're ready to do all that right now."

New Members Announced

In addition, Hyperledger Project also announced eight new members that have joined the initiative to establish an open standard for distributed ledgers that will transform the way business transactions are conducted globally. New members include: Beijing AiYi Digital Finance Technology Co. Ltd, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Cloudsoft Corporation Ltd., Coinplug, Cuscal Limited, Eurostep Holdings Ltd., Skry (Coinalytics) and Soramitsu.

Earlier in March, the Linux Foundation announced 10 new companies joining the initiative, along with key leadership positions for the Hyperledger project. The Technical Steering Committee is chaired by Chris Ferris, CTO of open technology at IBM, and the governing board is chaired by Blythe Masters, CEO of Digital Asset Holdings.