Dear Wikimedians,
I have some important news to share with you. Erik Moeller will be leaving the Wikimedia Foundation on April 30th. Last week he let me know that he decided it is time for him to explore his passions beyond our walls.
I want to thank Erik. For more than a decade, he gave his all to Wikimedia -- first as a volunteer, then as a board member, and finally as a leader at the WMF. For the past year, has been my personal guide, particularly in my critical few months as the ED.
Earlier this year, I announced a Call to Action https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Communications/State_of_the_Wikimedia_Foundation#2015_Call_to_Action designed to organize the WMF around focus on product and communities. We have already started putting some of these key initiatives into place.
In February, we brought the key community-facing functions into one team, Community Engagement under Luis Villa, to improve support for community needs and priorities. In March, we brought on Terry Gilbey as our new Chief Operating Officer, to improve our organizational effectiveness, and introduce rigor and discipline into our operational processes, metrics, and reporting. And just two weeks ago, we introduced Kourosh Karimkhany as our new Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, to build meaningful partnerships, projects, and relationships that advance our mission.
Improving technology and execution are a major part of our Call to Action, and I have been working with Erik, Damon, and others to determine our path forward. Erik has been a key thought partner and thought leader in this effort. We are near completion in this planning, and I look forward to sharing more information with you all next Tuesday.
I am excited to see Erik’s next incredible adventure. Please join me in supporting him on his path.
~~~~Lila