Hello Christophe
Thank you for your email, and always good to hear from you as I very much
appreciate your questions, and the spirit in which they’re always asked of
the Board. And you rightly pointed out that there has been a lot of change
in senior leadership at the Foundation.
Underlying these planned transitions at the Foundation (also playing out in
many organizations globally, I might add) is that they come at a time when
we are all going through a period of disruption brought on by the global
pandemic, and the toll it’s had on individuals, the Foundation, and the
movement. Most organizations are feeling this, even as we all
simultaneously work to make sure we are fully prepared with the right
leadership for the next normal of a post-pandemic world.
Amid this, a few have left citing deeply personal reasons, some in
response to changing needs, reassessment of roles, and emerging
organizational or individual work/life priorities. There have been a myriad
of factors that have led to these planned departures but, taken together,
we know they can be, at the minimum, be perceived as concerning and even
related.
On behalf of the Board, I want to reassure you and the communities that the
Transition Team is working closely with department and team leaders to
ensure that these departures will not distract from our mission and our
support of the movement. There is strong interim leadership in place to
provide continuity and support to staff, and address any questions or
concerns they may have, including in the affected teams. And the Board is
very actively engaged with Foundation leadership, and will continue to be
both available and participative, as we purposefully move toward filling
the Foundation’s leadership roles, starting with the CEO/ED.
Members of the Board are also meeting this month with full Foundation staff
to provide continuity and support to the entire team, in addition to many
of us having made ourselves fully available to the Foundation’s leaders,
realizing this is a transition period for all.
The Wikimedia Foundation today is very different from the one 10 years ago
or even two years ago, but it is still laser focused on moving our mission
forward with the help of movement leaders such as yourself. We are
optimistic about emerging from this time, with the Foundation
well-positioned to support the growth of the movement and achieve the goals
we set out with communities in our movement strategy process.
Best,
Raju
--
Raju Narisetti
Email: rnarisetti(a)wikimedia.org
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