Linux Foundation Appoints Frank Nagle as Advising Chief Economist

SAN FRANCISCO, May 20, 2025 – The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced the appointment of Frank Nagle as Advising Chief Economist. In this role, Nagle will lead the Foundation's research agenda on the economic impact of open source software (OSS), driving insights that identify key areas of value creation, innovation, and growth across the open source ecosystem.

In his role, Nagle will build on existing research and lead new discoveries into the monetary, societal and innovative impact of OSS, and spearhead efforts to quantify how open source communities generate value and support innovation. He will also lead efforts to measure the economic impact of OSS in emerging fields like artificial intelligence and develop frameworks to support growth in the commercial OSS startup ecosystem.

"The data gathered so far suggests we are only just beginning to understand the full economic and societal value of open source software," said Nagle. "As Advising Chief Economist at the Linux Foundation, my focus will be on expanding the open source market position through partnerships, research and advocacy, particularly in the area of open source AI."

An assistant professor in the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School, Nagle's practice areas include the future of work, the economics of IT, and digital transformation and how technology is creating new pathways for growth. In 2024, Nagle co-authored the landmark paper "The Value of Open Source Software," which found that without OSS, the global economy would need to spend 3.5 times more on software – representing roughly $9 trillion in value. Other research by Nagle has revealed that companies actively contributing to OSS see productivity gains twice as large as those who do not.

"At the Linux Foundation, we're working to solve the hardest technology problems through the world's largest shared technology investment – one that is growing rapidly with the rise of open source AI," said Jim Zemlin, Executive Director, Linux Foundation. "Frank has been a leading voice in quantifying the value of open source. His work will help us identify where OSS is headed, what our communities need to thrive and how companies can materially benefit from open source adoption."

Nagle's research has been featured in publications such as Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, and Brookings Institution TechStream, and published in leading academic journals. He advises startups in the data and analytics space, sits on advisory boards for Nexleaf Analytics and Alphamatician, and serves as a policy advisor to international bodies including the U.N., Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the European Commission.

He holds a doctorate in Technology and Operations Management from Harvard Business School, an MSc in International Business Economics from City, University of London, and M.S. and B.S. degrees in Computer Science and International Affairs from Georgetown University.

To learn more about the Linux Foundation, visit www.linuxfoundation.org.

Media Contact
Allison Stokes
The Linux Foundation
astokes@linuxfoundation.org