I’ve decided to pursue a new chapter in my professional career.

While this is the right decision for me, it was a very emotional one. Every day we help change the world at Zend, the company I co-founded with Zeev Suraski. PHP today runs over 50% of the web, and I’m proud of the role we played in making that happen. A number of years ago PHP crossed the chasm, and at Zend we now serve a large roster of enterprises running business-critical PHP applications. Some of the biggest brands on the planet! (cartoons, fruit, and many more…)

We have also changed the game in many other ways. With Zend Framework we raised awareness for enterprise frameworks and best practices in the PHP community. PHP 7, which was recently released, is providing amazing tailwind to ongoing PHP adoption. Many companies talk about their mission and impact, yet very few people have the opportunity to participate in a company which helped transform a market as big as the Web. I couldn’t be more proud of what the great teams at Zend have accomplished over the years.

Last year, Zend was acquired by Rogue Wave Software, a company whose software we’ve all touched at some point in our lives. In fact, I used SourcePro as a C++ developer working on critical avionics-related systems. With the virtually identical mission statements, it made perfect sense to join forces in what is a very natural fit.

The past months at Rogue Wave have been a great experience, very rewarding and welcoming. Rogue Wave offers Zend more significant enterprise reach, and the company’s strong open source capabilities and community contributions to Linux and other popular OSS projects strengthens the Zend open source capabilities. I am excited about the potential for both PHP and the Zend enterprise offering going forward!

I’ve enjoyed every minute of the ride and at the same time accumulated more gray hair. My new chapter affords me the opportunity to focus more of my time on product, something I love and am passionate about. I am looking forward to working on new problems that make an impact for many.

Needless to say, my bonds to Zend and the PHP community are, and remain, strong. I will continue to be a vocal supporter of the Zend products and the team. I will continue to seek out opportunities to add to my elephpant herd (by far, my children’s #1 concern with me leaving). And I will continue to contribute to the PHP community and be an ambassador for PHP.

And last but not least, a special thank you to Zeev Suraski, the Ze in Zend and my (almost) life-long partner and friend who kicks ass. I wish most people to be as fortunate as I was in having such a great person share the roller coaster ride of building a company.

This is not a goodbye, but a see you in the neighborhood!