Dear Katherine, Thank you for your engagement and support to our movement, to which you have brought so much. We will miss you but we hope you will stay connected in some way or another.
Particularly, I want to thank you for your commitment to diversity and inclusion, and for being one of those leaders that one can easily reach out to. I join the others in wishing you all the best for the future in your personal and professional endeavours. Warm regards, Natacha Rault Envoyé de mon iPhone > Le 5 févr. 2021 à 11:47, Olushola Olaniyan <olaniyanshol...@gmail.com> a > écrit : > > > Dear Katherine, > > I never saw this coming! > > You have done so well as the CEO of Foundation and I believe you will > continue to be an ambassador of the movement, wherever you go. > > You are such a special person and we all shall miss you!!! > > Stay blessed. > > > >> On Thu, Feb 4, 2021, 6:48 PM Katherine Maher <kma...@wikimedia.org> wrote: >> Hi everyone, >> >> Earlier today, I announced to my colleagues at the Wikimedia Foundation my >> intention to step down as CEO later this spring. April 15th will be my last >> day, marking my seven-year anniversary with the Foundation and the movement. >> This was not an easy decision, but it is the right one. For now, I want to >> share with you why I’m moving on, and what comes next. I’ll save the >> customary email with deeper reflections, memories, and thanks for later this >> spring! >> >> In some ways, this was the easiest hard decision I’ve ever made. It’s never >> exactly a good time to step away -- transitions always have some rough edges >> -- but it’s always best to do so when the organization is strong, and before >> you’ve overstayed your welcome. The movement is in a good, strong place. Our >> communities are growing, our readership is too. Our 20th birthday, the >> launch of our Universal Code of Conduct, and the movement strategy >> recommendations are all milestone moments of solidity and strength. I have >> great hopes and confidence in the upcoming plans for strategy >> implementation, particularly the work on the movement charter and interim >> global council. We are healthy and thriving. >> >> While we will always have more work to do to become the Wikimedia that we >> want to be, our movement and our organization is in a phase of renewal and >> regeneration. We have deepened our practices of consultation, collaboration, >> and inclusion that will be the foundation of the next decade of our work. We >> have a deep and stable financial position that will help us grow and protect >> us from any storm, and the trust in our projects has never been higher. Our >> communities are poised to take on deeper responsibilities of governance, >> accountability, and leadership, populating a rich, representative, and >> leaderful movement for free knowledge. >> >> The Foundation is also strong, and filled with passionate, values-aligned >> leaders at every level of the organization, deeply committed to the work of >> our movement and mission. Although we don’t always all perfectly agree on >> absolutely everything, we are working more openly and cooperatively with our >> movement than ever before. Collaborative strategic planning, sustainable >> programs to support technical communities and tooling, co-development and >> consultation on transformative new experiences welcoming newcomers, >> cooperative partnerships on public health data, bibliographic data, and >> human rights data -- all of these are signals of much great work to come. >> Even difficult topics, such as brand and movement governance, continue to >> bring people together in nothing less than feisty commitment. >> >> Together, we have rich resources of brilliant people, deep passion, and >> compassion. We are making progress on some of our greatest challenges, from >> editor and readership growth, technical debt, representation and >> participation, safety and knowledge equity. I am proud of what we’ve done >> together and grateful for all the ways in which this movement has made my >> life immeasurably richer: friendships that will last a lifetime, >> intellectual curiosity and kinship, and so many memories of so much dancing, >> from Accra to Berlin to Chandigarh. >> >> As for me, I’m going to take a break, and a research fellowship, as a place >> to think about what’s next. It’s hard to think about your future when you’re >> fully in your present, and for the past seven years, I’ve been fully present >> for this movement. But as I look around, I see global challenges such as >> polarization, inequality, and climate change, as well as opportunities for >> generational renewal and optimism. As a Wikimedian, I lean toward optimism, >> and plan to apply myself in that direction! >> >> What’s next >> We announced this planned transition publicly on our communications channels >> during a Foundation all-staff meeting today. >> A Board Transition Committee composed of Dariusz Jemielniak, who is chair of >> HR Committee, Tanya Capuano, who is chair of the Audit Committee, Raju >> Narisetti, and María Sefidari as Board Chair, will launch the search for a >> new CEO. They’ll work closely with the executive Transition Team on >> organizational operations, and with the broader board on an open candidate >> call. The Board is working with the goal of onboarding a new CEO by Q2 of >> the 2021-2022 fiscal year. >> We’ve been working on succession planning for the CEO role since 2019 as a >> matter of best practice, and the organization is well-prepared for a >> thoughtful search for the next phase of our mission. The Board has decided >> to work with Kathleen Yazbak of Viewcrest Advisors[1] for the executive >> search: I’ve worked closely with Kathleen on a number of occasions, and she >> is a true Wikimedian at heart. >> I’ll be drawing back from day-to-day operational work to transition interim >> responsibilities starting February 8th. A C-level Transition Team of Jaime >> Villagomez, Amanda Keton, and Robyn Arville, our two board officers and >> chief people leader, will take up key responsibilities and decision making >> around planning, community, and people, and work closely with the broader >> C-team and VP leadership cohort. >> I’ll spend the next three months supporting the Foundation in readying >> itself for a transition. I’ll spend February preparing with this group and >> other organizational and community leaders on movement strategy and >> institutional knowledge transfer, sharing lessons learned, and supporting >> the organization in developing the next year’s strategic plan. >> I look forward to celebrating with you in March and April! >> I'll be around for a bit, so feel free to reach out, and after that, I'll >> see you on the wikis! >> >> Cheers, >> Katherine >> >> [1] https://viewcrestadvisors.com/ >> >> >> -- >> >> >> Katherine Maher (she/her) >> CEO >> Wikimedia Foundation >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org >> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, >> <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
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