Collax, a leading European vendor of affordable, turn-key, Linux-based server solutions for small and medium businesses, has announced that Paula Hunter (pictured), formerly of the Open Source Development Lab (OSDL), has joined the management team as vice president of U.S. marketing.

In coming weeks, Collax will open an office in the Boston-area, a critical step in establishing a new worldwide headquarters and providing new business opportunity for thousands of resellers in the U.S. market. The flagship product, the Collax Business Server, delivers a suite of open source applications for security, networking, and communication to run a small or growing business with no Linux knowledge required.

Paula Hunter brings more than 20 years of experience in enterprise information technology (IT), open source marketing and business development. Most recently, Hunter was Marketing and Business Development director with OSDL a global consortium of leading technology companies dedicated to accelerating the adoption of Linux. In addition, she has held key executive positions with such companies as UnitedLinux, Xevo Corporation, the ASP (Application Service Provider) Industry Consortium and Compaq Computer Corporation. She holds a B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Bentley College.

"Paula brings with her a vast network of partners and customers as well as tremendous experience in the Linux market," said Olaf Jacobi, CEO of Collax. "Her strong credentials are invaluable to the Collax team as we prepare for our U.S launch."

"Linux is well-established in the enterprise and is now poised for broader adoption by SMBs," said Hunter. "I'm thrilled to be helping to position and build Collax's presence in this large market."