Brno May 2025: Hosting OpenSSL Projects and Corporation BAC Members for Alignment and Connection

OpenSSL Corporation, OpenSSL Projects, Corporation BACs, and OpenSSL Foundation

Pictured here from left to right: Štefan Kremeň (Support Manager), Peter Gutmann (cryptlib), Hana Andersen (Marcom Manager), Shayne Jones (cryptlib), Kajal Sapkota (MarCom Specialist), Kateřina Míčová (Business Admin), Daniela Kellnerová (MarCom Specialist), Norbert Pócs (Software Engineer), Tomáš Vávra (Engineering & Standards Mgr.), Anton Arapov (Operations Manager), Tim Hudson (Corporation President), Matt Caswell (Foundation President), Tomáš Mráz (Foundation Public Support and Security Manager), James Bourne (FireDaemon Technologies), Jaroslav Řezník (Red Hat), David Hook (Bouncy Castle), Billy Bob Brumley (RIT)


From May 14–16, the OpenSSL Corporation hosted a face-to-face working session in Brno, Czech Republic. The meeting was designed to bring together participants from the OpenSSL Projects and convene in an in-person meeting of the Corporation’s Business Advisory Committee (BAC). The OpenSSL Foundation was invited to join on Wednesday and Thursday in the broader conversations with the OpenSSL Projects.

This was the first time these groups gathered in person in this configuration. The sessions served as an opportunity to strengthen working relationships, align on shared priorities, and focus on strategic coordination across the ecosystem.

Wednesday: OpenSSL Projects Meet in Person

The first day was a full-session gathering between the OpenSSL Corporation, OpenSSL Projects, and invited representatives from the OpenSSL Foundation:

The OpenSSL Projects represented:

  • David Hook, Founder of Bouncy Castle
  • Shayne Jones, CEO of cryptlib
  • Peter Gutmann, CTO of cryptlib

The OpenSSL Foundation was represented by:

  • Matt Caswell, OpenSSL Foundation President
  • Tomáš Mráz, OpenSSL Foundation Public Support and Security Manager

This day centred on reinforcing what it means to be part of the OpenSSL Projects. The OpenSSL Projects operate with autonomy but share the core mission of:

“We believe everyone should have access to security and privacy tools, whoever they are, wherever they are or whatever their personal beliefs are, as a fundamental human right.”

Discussions focused on how to maintain strong collaboration between projects, sustain healthy governance structures, and ensure shared direction without compromising autonomy.

Wednesday Meeting

Thursday: Split Agenda – Projects and BAC

Thursday’s meeting was split into two parts.

The morning continued discussions with the OpenSSL Projects, building on the themes from Wednesday. The group explored how to improve project visibility, share lessons across teams, and provide better guidance to downstream users. Topics included documentation, branding, and how projects communicate compatibility and roadmap intent to integrators.

In the afternoon, the focus shifted to the Corporation’s Business Advisory Committee (BAC). The BAC met with the Corporation to review its advisory role, governance responsibilities, and community engagement strategies. There was alignment on the need for more open processes, including future public advisory meetings and a clearer path for representative elections. The Corporation and BAC also discussed how to make community feedback more visible in decision-making.

Members of the Business Advisory Committee in attendance included:

  • Billy Bob Brumley (RIT) – representing Academia
  • Paul Dale (Oracle) – representing Committers (participating online)
  • Jaroslav Řezník (Red Hat) – representing Distributions
  • James Bourne (FireDaemon Technologies) – representing Small Businesses
Thursday Meeting

Friday: Focused Business Advisory Discussions

Friday was a working session between the Corporation and its Business Advisory Committee. With a smaller group, the conversation turned to governance improvements, strategic support for compliance and certification activities, and long-term planning for the OpenSSL Library.

This working session allowed the Corporation to get detailed input from its advisors and clarify priorities for the coming months.

Later in the day, members of the group attended the 209th OpenALT meeting, a regular gathering of the Czech open-source community. The invitation came from Jaroslav Řezník, the Corporation’s BAC representative for Distributions. At the event, Anton Arapov gave a short presentation introducing the OpenSSL Corporation, its mission, and how it fits into the broader open-source security landscape. The audience included local developers, open-source contributors, and students from Brno’s universities, providing a chance to connect with future contributors and engage with the next generation of open-source participants.

Friday Meeting

Weekend in Pilsen

After the working sessions, all attendees—including the Corporation, Projects, BAC, and Foundation—travelled to Pilsen for a group visit. The visit included brewery tours, local historical landmarks, and time away from the structured agenda. These experiences are as important as the meetings themselves.

This trip continued to build working relationships in a more informal setting. For distributed teams, spending time together in person helps strengthen communication and trust, which improves collaboration throughout the year.

Pilsen Trip

Summary and Next Steps

The Brno meeting provided a space for direct, in-person discussions across the OpenSSL Ecosystem. The Corporation hosted the event to support coordination among the OpenSSL Projects and advance the work of its Business Advisory Committee. The Foundation’s participation added valuable insight across both technical and governance topics.

Next steps include reviewing how to improve visibility across the Projects, continuing work on transparency and representation in advisory processes, and following up on governance and planning items raised during the week.