Makoto Ono: New Sales Director at LPI

Ontario, Canada, 2026-01-30 — Linux Professional Institute (LPI) is delighted to welcome Makoto Ono as its new Sales Director. Ono has a long history with the LPI community, having been a key member of the sales team in Japan from 2008 to 2015. With 30 years of experience in education, he has also worked for CompTIA Japan, Red Hat, and Pearson VUE.

Computer science courses in college influenced Ono’s decision to enter the computer field. He realized that validating the knowledge of students, inexperienced individuals, and even people with advanced technical skills could be of service to people’s career development.

He is now collaborating with LPI’s sales teams and partners on a global strategy to create new opportunities for partners and help them provide the best possible support to candidates for certification and other clients. He has provided some strategic goals for this article.

Helping Partners and Learners Succeed

Through strategic partnerships, LPI and its partners can increase the supply of certified, job-ready talent that gives certificate holders access to a global market. One project Ono is launching in pursuit of this goal is a scholarship program that will be the first in Japan covering free and open source software. The intended impact of this program is to provide corporate assistance for exam participation by students who cannot afford the fees. The assistance aims to enhance and recognize their skills and help overcome the financial hurdles faced by some students.

Supporting Technical Education

Ono wants to strengthen the certification field’s accessibility, workforce alignment, and industry relevance. LPI will Increase its efforts to support early-stage learners, with Linux and related open source technologies as the foundation for modern infrastructure and AI operations.

He sees a strong tie between technical education and certification. He says, “Obtaining qualifications helps make your skills visible. Especially for beginners, this visibility is extremely important.” He also points out that Linux is the de facto standard for modern AI development and operations, continuing the dominance of open source well into the 21st century.

Partners are encouraged to contact LPI through official regional or global channels to discuss strategic collaboration and scholarship initiatives.