New subject: Wikimedia Deutschland's new Executive Director will be Christian Rickerts

2 Mar 2015

Dear Wikimedia friends,

On behalf of our board, I am delighted to announce that Christian Rickerts
will be the new Executive Director of Wikimedia Deutschland. The board
followed the transition team’s unanimous recommendation and hired Christian
effective May 1, 2015.

Wikimedia Deutschland is shaped by the work of volunteers as well as paid
professionals. Christian Rickerts comes with experience from both
perspectives. In 1995, he co-founded Schüler Helfen Leben e. V., a
non-profit association that promotes equal access to education for children
and young people in the Balkans. Later, he served as the association’s
first Executive Director and led the Schüler Helfen Leben Foundation. After
that, he worked in the for-profit as well as the non-profit sector, first
as a consultant for strategy and organizational development at Capgemini,
then as the Executive Director of the German section of Reporters Without
Borders. Since 2012, he has been Vice President Corporate Communication at
the Bertelsmann Stiftung, the largest privately held non-profit foundation
in Germany.

Christian’s profound knowledge of the intersection between voluntary and
paid work as well as his value-driven thinking and methodological diversity
have deeply impressed us. We are thrilled to get him on board and to shape
Wikimedia Deutschland’s future together. Christian is highly motivated to
join the Wikimedia movement. We are confident that he is the perfect fit
for the role of the Executive Director.

Jan Engelmann will continue to be our interim ED until May. On behalf of
the board, I would like to express my gratitude for his outstanding
efforts. A huge thank you goes to the transition team[1], which has
planned, led, and brought this collaborative process to a successful close
within eight months. The team was constituted in June 2014, composed of
members of our board as well as representatives of our staff, our members
and the German Wikimedia community. The work of the team has been
straightforward and exceptional. We are convinced that their experience is
highly valuable for the broader movement. Therefore, the team is planning
to share their insights and learnings at the upcoming Wikimedia Conference.

Starting in May, you will have the chance to join us in providing Christian
with a warm welcome to the Wikiverse. Many of you will meet Christian at
the Wikimedia Conference in May. He is also planning to attend Wikimania in
July.

Best regards,
Tim Moritz Hector

[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Deutschland/Transition_Team

-- 
Tim Moritz Hector
Chair of the board

Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | D-10963 Berlin
tel.: +49 (0)30 - 219 158 260 http://www.wikimedia.de

Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg
unter der Nummer 23855 B.
Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für Körperschaften I
Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.