Jean-Baptiste Onofré, ASF Board of Directors, PMC Chair, PMC Member and Committer
The Apache Software Foundation thrives because of the individuals who contribute their time, expertise, and leadership across its global community. In this installment of our Plus One People series, we speak with Jean-Baptiste Onofré (JB) about his journey into open source, the work he is doing within the Apache ecosystem, and what trends he believes will shape the future of open collaboration.
Quick Facts
Name: JB Onofré (full name is Jean-Baptiste Onofré)
Apache Roles: ASF Board of Directors, PMC Chair, PMC member, committer, and contributor
Apache Projects involved with: ActiveMQ, Aries, Arrow, Artemis, Beam, Brooklyn, bRPC, Camel, CarbonData, Creadur, Devlake, EventMesh, Felix, Fluss, Geronimo, Gobblin, Gravitino, Guacamole, Incubator, InLong, Karaf, kvRocks, Livy, OpenServerless, Pekko, Polaris, PouchDB, ResilientDB, SeaTunnel, Sedona, ServiceComb, Shiro, StreamPipes, Syncope, Unomi, Wayang, XTable
Location (Country): France
First Apache contribution: I started to contribute on httpd and mod_jk/mod_proxy in 2004. My first “concrete” and long term contribution was in 2006 when I started to contribute on Cocoon and ServiceMix.
Favorite open source tool (besides Apache projects): OpenCPN (I’m a sailor :))
The Conversation
Q. How did you first get involved with Apache?
A: In 2004, while working at a public research lab in Southern France, I was responsible for implementing complex algorithms in C, C++, and Java. Rather than reinventing the wheel, I sought out existing open source code to integrate into my projects. This led me to contribute improvements back to those libraries, marking the beginning of my long-term involvement with The Apache Software Foundation.
Q. What Apache projects or open source initiatives are you currently focused on?
A. Over the past several years, I have pivoted my focus toward the big data ecosystem. I am particularly drawn to the architectural challenges of distributed systems—specifically, how to maintain consistency and availability at scale. I find the evolution of distributed querying engines fascinating, as they bridge the gap between massive, unstructured datasets and real-time, actionable insights. That’s why I’m involved in Apache Iceberg, Apache Polaris, Apache Arrow, and Apache Beam, among others.
I’m still very involved in Apache ActiveMQ, Apache Camel, and Apache Karaf because I see a lot of opportunities in this integration area. This integration/middleware domain is not dead at all; I think we have a lot of opportunities here.
Q. What excites you most about the work happening in the Apache community right now?
A. I see more collaborations across the Apache communities. We see a lot of collaborations between the different projects. Lakehouse Day and Community Over Code Con are two events that showcase how ASF projects work together to create their own ecosystem(s).
Q. What challenges or opportunities are you seeing in open source today?
A. Even if it’s not easy, I think The ASF is doing a great job around project governance. We are finding the right balance between neutrality and vendor contributions.
The rise of AI presents a tremendous opportunity for the Foundation. The ASF’s community over code ethos gives us a unique and credible voice to lead the AI conversation in a responsible, ethical way. Following the release of our Generative Tooling Guidelines, the ASF is well positioned to play a major role in shaping the open source AI ecosystem. I am excited about what lies ahead and committed to helping the Foundation seize this moment. I see The ASF playing a key role in responsible AI guidance.
Q. What technology or industry trends do you think will shape the future of open source?
A. We are moving beyond simple AI coding assistants. The new trend is Agentic AI—autonomous open source agents that don’t just suggest code but independently manage entire workflows (reading repositories, planning changes, running tests, and deploying products).
With AI handling the boilerplate, the barrier between “idea” and “software” has collapsed. Domain experts (scientists, doctors, etc.) are increasingly becoming “developers” by using natural language to orchestrate open source agents. While AI helps developers, it also creates “AI slop”—a flood of low-quality automated pull requests. Open source maintainers are increasingly using AI defensively to triage, label, and filter these contributions. That’s where The ASF has a huge opportunity to shape a responsible AI future for open source.
Also, regulations like the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), which takes effect in late 2026, are forcing the open source community to treat security as a legal mandate rather than a best practice. We are seeing the rise of “digital provenance” tools. These map out not just what code is in a project, but who wrote it, where they are located, and how risk is concentrated across contributors.
Security is shifting from manual checklists to “continuous threat exposure management (CTEM). Organizations are now using AI-driven scanners to monitor their entire “nth-party” vendor ecosystem in real-time.
Q. The Apache Way emphasizes community over code. Why does that principle matter? Can you think of an example of why that principle is mission critical for a project?
A. In the world of open source, code can become obsolete, buggy, or displaced by newer technologies. If a project is built on a code-first mentality, it often relies on a few “hero” developers. If those developers leave, the project dies.
And with AI, the code is not where the value is: the design, principles, and features are the game changers.
By prioritizing community over code, the ASF ensures:
- Sustainability & Longevity: A diverse community ensures that when one person leaves, others are there to step in.
- Quality Through Consensus: Decisions are made through active voting or “lazy consensus,” ensuring that various use cases (and potential bugs) are considered before code is merged.
- Legal & Intellectual Safety: A structured community ensures that all contributions are legally vetted, protecting users from patent or copyright issues.
Q. What advice would you give someone who wants to start contributing to an Apache project?
A. First, find your perfect home: find the project and community you like. If you personally use the project, it’s easier to be involved. Then start by observing the community via its mailing list and non-code contributions. You will likely be able to identify someone who can help you as a mentor. Then choose a tiny improvement for your first pull request, and work to make your submission effective and accurate. So, it takes time and effort. I often advise newcomers to identify a mentor. It helps them to ramp up quickly in any community.
Lightning Round (for fun)
- Favorite Apache project you’re not directly involved in: Superset looks very cool.
- Tool or technology you rely on daily: zsh and rxvt
- Coffee, tea, or terminal: Coffee in front of my terminal 😉
- One word (or short phrase) that describes the Apache community: Open mindset and collaboration
Contributors like JB help shape the direction of The ASF by combining technical innovation with a deep commitment to community-driven collaboration. As the open source landscape continues to evolve, they play an important role in guiding the future of software developed for the public good.
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