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/
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