pivotal:

1. Of, relating to, or serving as a pivot.
2. Being of vital or central importance; crucial.

As has been widely reported, last week I was among those at Oracle who were “let go” – a sanitized expression that is meant to diminish the indescribable impact of being fired due to circumstances far outside one’s knowledge or ability to influence. Details aren’t important, but suffice it to say that my teammates and I were…surprised. 🙂

The Java community is so much more than one company. It is many companies, organizations, not-for-profits, JUGs, individuals…so many who make it the vibrant, sharing community we all love. I’ve spoken with several, and I’ve had some wonderful conversations with organizations with a vision. This community is very much alive, and great ideas are flowing, with more on tap!

Pivotal

Which brings me to some exciting news! I’ll soon be joining the team at Pivotal. I won’t name names, as there are simply too many outstanding colleagues to mention without inadvertently leaving someone out. But you know them: they’re thinkers, innovators, and doers. Pivotal has some great tools in their toolbox, and I can’t wait to put every one of them to good use! I feel like a kid in a candy store. 🙂

I still have some good friends and colleagues within Oracle, and I respect them deeply for doing amazing things with Java and the community. They are awesome, and those individuals deserve your support. But this is a pivotal (you knew that pun was coming, didn’t you?!?!) moment for me, and I look forward to some pretty amazing things moving forward!

Whether you’re an old friend or new, or a soon-to-be one, if you happen to be at a conference where I am, please catch up with me and say “Hi”. I’m looking forward to it. 🙂

Onward & upward,
Mark

Follow me on Twitter (@MkHeck) for updates as the journey unfolds!

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