Tom Francese to Leave Post as Novell Executive Vice President

17 June 2008

Novell today announced that Thomas M. Francese, executive vice president of worldwide sales, will leave the Company, effective July 31, 2008. Mr. Francese joined Novell in October 2005 to lead the Company's European sales and operations. During that time, Mr. Francese supported the transformation of the sales and go-to-market activities in that region. In October 2006, Mr. Francese was promoted to the position of executive vice president for worldwide sales.

Commenting on the announcement, Ron Hovsepian, president and CEO, acknowledged Mr. Francese's contributions to Novell's success. "Tom's charter was to help grow Novell's sales, channel and alliances activities around the globe. Through his efforts, and those of his team, we now have a strong ecosystem in place to serve our customers within the rapidly growing Linux and security, identity and systems management markets."

Given the maturity of Novell's sales transformation and the reorganization of its sales activities, this position will be eliminated. The regional sales management of Novell remains unchanged with Tim Wolfe continuing as president of Americas, Volker Smid continuing as president of Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Maarten Koster continuing as president of Asia Pacific.

Financial Outlook
Novell management reiterates the following financial guidance:

For the full fiscal year 2008:

  • Net revenue is expected to be between $940 million and $970 million.
  • Non-GAAP operating margin is expected to be between 7% and 9%, excluding all acquisition-related intangible asset amortization.

Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is subject to the safe harbors created therein. The forward-looking statements contained herein include statements relating to Novell's reorganization of its sales activities and personnel and future financial and operating results. Actual events may differ materially from current expectations, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of Novell's management and on currently available information. Novell disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release except as required by the securities laws.

About Novell

Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq:NOVL) delivers the best engineered, most interoperable Linux* platform and a portfolio of integrated IT management software that helps customers around the world reduce cost, complexity and risk. With our infrastructure software and ecosystem of partnerships, Novell harmoniously integrates mixed IT environments, allowing people and technology to work as one. For more information, visit www.novell.com.

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