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Hi all, A few weeks ago, the Transition Team, which the Supervisory Board of Wikimedia Deutschland has tasked with organising the search for a new Executive Director, held its constitutive meeting. Today I would like to inform you of the work of the Transition team and about the last week’s further developments. I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Jan Engelmann as Interim Executive Director as of 1 September 2014. Jan has worked as the Head of the Politics & Society department of Wikimedia Deutschland since 2011. He has already deputised for the Executive Director on a regular basis over recent years. As Interim Executive Director, Jan will manage the department on a provisional basis. Up to 31 August Pavel Richter will remain Executive Director of Wikimedia Deutschland, with all corresponding duties and responsibilities. After this time – I am particularly pleased to report – Pavel will work with Jan in an advisory capacity during the upcoming transitional period. For the time being this role is set to end on 31 January 2015. Why have we chosen this solution? What is the difference between Executive Director and Interim Executive Director? What are the next steps? I would like to answer these questions by taking a look at the primary task of the Transition Team: for a new Executive Director to be appointed, the commission has to recommend a candidate to the Supervisory Board. This process will require a considerable amount of time. It will no doubt be several months before this task is complete. So far – over the past three weeks – all members have been appointed to the Commission, have met with one another and specified their respective responsibilities. The members also agreed to report publicly on milestones of their work[1]. For the Transition Team to be able to complete its work, it must be able to depend on certain conditions. These include, in particular, minimising time pressure and ensuring knowledge transfer and continuity. The association can ensure this with the support of Jan and Pavel. As Executive Director, Pavel has many years of experience and expertise that can remain within the association thanks to this cooperation. By appointing an Interim Executive Director, the Supervisory Board is following a proposal that was developed by the Transition Team. This solution was unanimously agreed at the Supervisory Board meeting after consultation with the relevant parties. In this role, Jan Engelmann’s task is to manage WMDE operations until a new Executive Director is appointed. I would like to thank Jan, who has agreed to take on this crucial task. I would also like to thank Pavel for enabling the Association to reliably and thoroughly prepare for the future. Most of the members of the Supervisory Board and the Transition Team will also be at Wikimania in London and happy to answer any questions you might have. 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 tim-moritz.hector(a)wikimedia.de Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing. Help us make it reality! http://spenden.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. _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>