Docker has announced that former Hortonworks Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Rob Bearden will be joining the company as CEO in early June. Rob brings over 20 years of experience in building and scaling world-class software companies, including some of the most commercially successful open sources companies such as Hortonworks (merged with Cloudera), SpringSource (acquired by VMware) and JBoss (acquired by Red Hat). 

In his new role at Docker, Rob will accelerate Docker's enterprise go-to-market strategy while continuing to fuel innovation in the technologies and products that drive digital transformation in an increasingly hybrid cloud world. Rob will also serve on Docker's board of directors. Steve Singh, Docker's CEO, will continue to serve as Docker's Chairman.

"Over the past few years, Docker has made incredible strides, emerging as the leading container platform provider for customers across the globe, who are digitally transforming their businesses," said Steve Singh, CEO and Chairman of Docker. "As we look ahead to the next 10 years of Docker's market opportunity, the board and I wanted to find a leader with world-class experience in building open source technology companies. We found that leader in Rob. In the time I have spent working with Rob, what has really impressed me, beyond his extensive background, is his commitment to his people and to serving customers. Under Rob's leadership, Docker will not only scale out an already wonderful business, it will also continue to change the technology landscape. I look forward to working with Rob over the next several months to help him smoothly transition into his new role."

Rob is a proven enterprise leader, building Hortonworks, prior to its merger with Cloudera, to be the fastest enterprise software companies to reach $100M in annual revenue and the first open source company to successfully IPO since Red Hat. Rob was also the Chief Operating Officer at both SpringSource and JBoss, two other commercially successful open source companies. Rob joins Docker at a time when the company is experiencing strong momentum in the enterprise software market with more than 750 commercial customers and the recognition of its flagship product, Docker Enterprise, as the leader in the enterprise container platform category. Rob will work with the leadership team to continue to drive adoption for the Docker platform while expanding the number of customers, partners and community members that look to Docker to accelerate software development and delivery across all industries.

"When Steve approached me with the chance to be part of this amazing team and company, I knew there was no way I could pass up this opportunity," said Rob Bearden, incoming CEO of Docker. "As companies look to create the next generation of applications and services, Docker will be the competitive differentiation that will drive their businesses forward into the new digital future. I look forward to collaborating with the Docker team, our go-to-market partners, customers and the entire ecosystem to build on the strong foundation that Steve and team have created and scale to address the next wave of growth and innovation."

"Steve and I are excited about Rob joining Docker as its next CEO. Rob's experience scaling open source companies will be invaluable to Docker as it embarks on the next phase of its growth," said Peter Fenton, General Partner at Benchmark Capital. "We recruited Steve from his board service at Docker to build the business of Docker. Under his leadership, Docker has transformed from an open source success into a thriving business. On behalf of the board, I want to thank Steve for his leadership. Steve and I look forward to working with Rob in the years ahead."

Since Docker's inception and subsequent pioneering of the container industry in 2013, the company has experienced rapid growth amounting to more than 105 billion container downloads, a rich and innovative ecosystem that includes millions of developers, and hundreds of partner companies in addition to more than 750 commercial customers worldwide. Docker's industry-changing technology is accelerating an evolution of traditional technologies by addressing major enterprise initiatives - from hybrid cloud and digital transformation to application modernization.