I decided to support that vote.
This has not been an easy decision because I find it *tremendously*
painful to vote against a person and it hurts me in my feelings to do so.
I hoped very dearly that the board would actually issue a statement that
would have helped me understand the decision and convinced me that this
appointement was a good decision. I hoped very dearly Arnnon would post
on this list to address the issue and to convince me he was a good fit
in spite of the whole situation. I waited... waited... waited... but
nothing came.
I can't sit and say nothing.
Learning the whole story about Arnnon was a disappointment to me as it
means the board selection process is not working as it should be (for a
mature organization as WMF ought to be by now). If the screening process
had been done properly, I believe the board would have refrained from
selecting him, or at least would have taken the time to address the
issue before any appointement announcement. This decreased my trust in
the board a bit, but I can live with that. Such mistakes do happen ;)
Secundly, Kat completely nailed it with regards to integrity being one
of our core values.
https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2016-January/080854.html.
I do feel unconfortable with Arnnon being on the board.
Then I was astonished when I discovered that Dariusz, who has been a
board member for over 6 months, was not aware of the existence of the
Conflict of Interest Policy, which include a pledge of commitment and an
obligation to disclose potential conflicts of interest. A policy voted
by the board several years ago and mandatory for all board members. It
is apparently not enforced anymore, even though it is an approved policy
and obviously a good governance practice. This makes me think the board
is not operating properly anymore on this serious matter.
Last, and not least, over two weeks after the issue was raised on the
mailing list, by several trusted members of our community, the current
board of trustees has not addressed the issue.
I hesitate between two interpretations. Either the board is completely
paralyzed and no more able to make any decision as to what they should
do. Or the board has decided not to provide any feedback, which I
consider completely disrespectful to the community and unhealthy
generally. Either way, I consider this lack of responsiveness from the
board an even WORSE consideration than Arnnon being a board member.
I love you guys... Patricio, Alice, Frieda, Dariusz, Denny, and Jimbo
(*). I love you very much. I know each of you. I value every one of you.
You guys rock in most of what you do and I know it is hard. It is a big
commitment, it is a lot of pressure, it is time-consuming. And I thank
every one of you for your gardianship as well as boldness in taking some
tough decisions.
But here... I do not understand what you are doing. Please take my vote
as a respectful record of my perplexity.
Anthere
(*)Citing community-born members only. Appointed members bring great
perspective, but I do not expect them to know it all about Wikimedia
community.
Le 21/01/16 01:04, Fæ a écrit :
We are now approaching 2 weeks since the open letter to the Chairman
of the WMF board. There has been no formal response, nor any
commitment to take action. Consequently a simple open and public vote
of confidence for Geshuri's appointment has been created.
Link:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Vote_of_confidence:Arnnon_Geshuri
Please vote or add your comment there.
Thanks,
Fae
On 7 January 2016 at 10:38, Fæ <fae...@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Patricio Lorente,
I request that the WMF board take immediate action to publish a
comprehensive account of why you appointed Geshuri as a trustee,
despite his direct involvement and being named as a defendant in the
on-going scandal of anticompetitive agreements at Google, or that
Geshuri chooses to step down from his new position of trust.
This is being separated out as an open letter to the board in a new
discussion thread, to avoid getting confused with other issues. In the
light of recent challenges to the WMF with regard to a dramatic loss
of confidence in their senior management and the politicking behind
the loss of James Heilman as a trustee openly advocating for
transparency to the actions of the WMF board, Geshuri's background
with anticompetitive practices can only damage confidence in the WMF
board with regard to their duty to hold WMF senior management to
account and acting with the highest possible accountability and public
transparency.
Links showing Geshuri's public footprint on this issue:
1.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/27/2753701/no-poach-scandal-unredacted-steve-jobs-eric-schmidt-paul-otellini
2.
http://www.lieffcabraser.com/Antitrust/Apple-Google-Silicon-Valley-No-Cold-Calling.shtml
3.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/03/23/google-shareholders-miffed-over-wage-fight.htm
4.
https://www.quora.com/How-is-Arnnon-Geshuri-current-VP-HR-at-Tesla-and-former-chief-architect-of-staffing-at-Google-good-at-what-he-does
Yours sincerely,
Fae
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Andrew Green <agr...@wikimedia.org>
Date: 7 January 2016 at 08:58
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Announcing new Wikimedia Foundation Trustees
To: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org>
Interesting to note Arnnon's role in the Silicon Valley anti-poaching
affair:
http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/27/2753701/no-poach-scandal-unredacted-steve-jobs-eric-schmidt-paul-otellini
- Andrew
--
fae...@gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae
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