As a raft of senior executives leave Novell to pursue other interests, the company is reiterating its commitment to embracing Linux across its entire product line.

That response follows news that Richard Seibt, the former president of SuSE Linux AG, which Novell Inc. acquired in early 2004, has resigned from his current position as president of Novell EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa).

But Seibt’s resignation brings to three the number of senior executives that have left the Waltham, Mass., company in recent months, and interestingly, all three were players in the company’s decision to embrace Linux and open source across its products and service lines.

In a short statement posted to its Web site Monday, Novell confirmed Seibt’s resignation and said his duties would be assumed by Ron Hovsepian, the company’s president of worldwide field operations, until a replacement is found.

Seibt could not be reached for comment.

Novell chairman and CEO Jack Messman said in a statement that he would “like to thank Richard for his contributions to Novell, especially in the transition and integration of the SuSE Linux business. We wish him well in his future endeavors.”

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