SugarCRM (News - Alert), an open source CRM provider, has appointed Larry Augustin as the full-time Chief Executive Officer of the company. Since May 2009, Augustin has been serving the company as interim CEO, but has been part of the SugarCRM Board of Directors since 2005.

“I am delighted to lead SugarCRM, a company with a large customer base, extensive partner network and tremendous employees,” Augustin said. “SugarCRM occupies a special and enviable position as a leader in both open source and cloud computing.” 

According to SugarCRM’s Chairman, Scott Sandell, Larry has been deeply involved with SugarCRM since joining the Board of Directors in 2005.

“His experience with the company over the last four years, combined with his tremendous knowledge and network in open source and application software, make him the perfect fit to lead this company into the future,” Sandell said.

Since joining SugarCRM as interim CEO in May 2009, Augustin has led SugarCRM's open cloud delivery strategy to empower the company's 250 partners to build and deliver customized cloud-based applications for over 5,000 customers. 

And, he has worked with the company’s partnership base, such as the recent Tata Communications (News - Alert) India market software announcement, to expand the company’s geographical presence. In following these efforts, Augustin has also strengthened SugarCRM's ties with Microsoft (News - Alert) and overseen the development and release of the company's new web services and mobile functionality. 

Since joining the SugarCRM team, Augustin has helped the company achieve various recognitions including the Best of Open Source award, Best Open Source Technology by CRM Magazine and Best Open Source Solution CODiE Award by the Software & Information Industry Association. 

Augustin was recently named the most influential business executive in open source, due to his role in the founding of open source and his involvement with many of the leading open source companies, company officials said. 

Before joining SugarCRM, Augustin served as CEO of VA Linux, which is now SourceForge, and Medsphere. 

Augustin also said that he looks forward to helping SugarCRM capitalize on these the company’s professional opportunities.