Open-source software has completely changed how developers work together, create new ideas, and implement solutions in the rapidly changing world of technology. Sarah Novotny, a driven technologist and leader whose work has influenced some of the most significant projects in the business, is one of the most important figures driving the expansion of open-source ecosystems. Throughout his more than 20 years in the industry, Novotny has promoted openness, diversity, and the strength of community-driven development in everything from Kubernetes to MySQL and NGINX.
Sarah Novotny started her technology career when open-source software was just gaining strength in the enterprise space. In 2001, she co-founded Blue Gecko, a firm that offered database administration remotely, several years before Databases as a Service (DBaaS) went mainstream. Blue Gecko was an early initiative that enabled organizations to streamline database management without having in-house expertise. Novotny and her team at Blue Gecko worked with enterprise clients for more than ten years, honing best practices for effectively growing and managing database operations. An important turning point in her business career was reached in 2012 when DatAvail acquired the company due to its creative strategy and profitability.
Sarah Novotny – Leadership in open source
Novotny’s open-source work experience has been a strong feature of her career. She has been pushing the development and adoption of Kubernetes, OpenTelemetry, NGINX, and MySQL, as well as developing them technically, and has contributed toward governance and strategy for their adoption. Her contributions do not stop at technical work—she has played a crucial role in establishing communities, governance, and strategic planning for these projects. Open-source projects are created on collaboration, and Novotny has been an indefatigable advocate for creating inclusive communities where developers and organizations can contribute meaningfully.
One of Novotny’s strongest roles was at Google, where she led the Kubernetes Community Program. Kubernetes, an open-source container orchestration platform, has become the de facto standard for running containerized applications. Novotny’s efforts were responsible for defining the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) and maintaining Kubernetes as a true community project. At Google, Novotny spent her time developing strategies to encourage more widespread adoption of Kubernetes in industries so that organizations of all sizes, from startups to enterprises, could tap into its potential. Her work in establishing a passionate developer community for Kubernetes helped make it one of the most significant open-source projects of the past decade.
Shaping the future of open source
Post her tenure at Google, Novotny continued open-source work at Microsoft, where she contributed to the company’s open-source engagement strategy. Historically, Microsoft had had a lukewarm attitude towards open-source software, but recently, the company has opened its arms to it. Novotny was one of those contributing to this change and served in the Azure Office of the CTO and guided the Open Source Ecosystem team at Microsoft. She worked to close the divide between Microsoft and the open-source community in this capacity. As a member of the Linux Foundation Board of Directors, she also represented Microsoft, making sure that the company’s operations complied with open-source principles. Her guidance influenced Microsoft’s increasing involvement in the open-source community, especially in the areas of enterprise adoption, developer relations, and cloud-native technologies.
In addition to her work as a leader at Microsoft and Google, Novotny has also worked on other large open-source projects. She was Head of Developer Relations and Marketing at NGINX, where she managed technical evangelism, advocacy, and community outreach. During her time at NGINX, the platform experienced exponential growth from 120 million websites in 2013 to 420 million in 2019. Her marketing and community initiatives helped make NGINX a top web server technology in the world. She was also CIO and Acting CTO at Meteor Entertainment, where she defined the product vision for a cloud-based video game publishing auto-scaling platform. At Meteor, her areas of work encompassed corporate IP strategy and pitches for Series C funding as well as Board of Directors advisory committees, which had established her ability to work across a technology-business strategy dichotomy.
A voice for open source culture
Novotny’s influence extends beyond her hands-on work on software projects. She is a much sought-after speaker, strategist, and advisor, frequently giving talks at conferences and industry gatherings. She has been vocal about the importance of community-driven development, open-source project governance models, and the intersection of business and open-source innovation. Her work is most fundamentally focused on creating bridges of cooperation among developers, companies, and the larger tech community, ensuring open-source projects are sustainable, well-governed, and inclusive. In January 2025, Novotny once again expanded her reach by taking the role of a Board Advisor at Kosai. Kosai is a not-for-profit company dedicated to obtaining open-source software and assisting their maintainers.
As increasingly large enterprise environments make use of open-source software, security and governance are now the highest priority. With Novotny’s deep experience in open-source strategy and governance, Kosai is looking to better engage with open-source communities and improve its vulnerability remediation workflows. Her role will be key to ensuring open-source projects are secure, properly maintained, and properly supported by contributors and companies that rely on them.
Sarah Novotny’s professional life is a reflection of the power of open-source collaboration, openness, and power of community. Not only has she contributed to the development of some of the most influential projects in modern technology, but she has also played a pivotal role in making the tech world a more inclusive and collaborative place. As a woman in a still male-dominated region, she’s an inspiration for future generations of technologists, particularly women, who seek to make an impact in open source and cloud computing. What she’s accomplished indicates that leadership through technology isn’t necessarily about the code—it’s about the people, it’s about making the policies change, and it’s about ensuring technology works for everybody. For those interested in learning more about Novotny’s opinions on open-source development and Kubernetes experience, her talk “Why is Kubernetes so special?” is worth watching.
