[Foundation-l] [Announcement] New CFOO: Veronique Kessler

[Sue Gardner]

Hi folks,

I’m delighted to announce that Veronique Kessler will be the Wikimedia 
Foundation’s new Chief Financial and Operating Officer (CFOO). Veronique 
will start with us February 4.

Veronique has 15 years of very strong managerial and financial 
experience working with a wide range of organizations. She joins us from 
the non-profit Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, where she was 
Director of Finance and, before that, Controller. Prior to JCCSF, she 
did financial consulting for clients such as Stanford University, 
brokerage firm Charles Schwab, and the venture capital and investment 
firm Berkeley International Capital Corporation. And before that, she 
was Controller for the Walden International Investment Group, financial 
reporting manager for the private investment company The Fremont Group, 
a senior accountant with the Wells Fargo bank, and a senior auditor with 
Deloitte & Touche, one of the world’s “big four” audit firms.

Veronique is a CPA (certified public accountant), with a B.A. in 
Economics from the University of California at Santa Cruz. She has a 
strong and varied international background including work with Hong 
Kong, China, Indonesia, Taiwan and Singapore, and she speaks fluent French.

The role of the Wikimedia Foundation’s CFOO is to oversee our financial 
and operational activities. In general, Veronique will ensure that the 
Foundation operates smoothly, effectively, and in compliance with 501(c) 
standards and generally-accepted accounting principles.

She will report to me. The heads of business development (Kul Wadhwa) 
and fundraising (hiring in progress) will report to her, as will our 
office manager (Erica Ortega), my assistant (Cheryl Owens, formerly 
Steffen), and our accountant (currently Oleta McHenry, in St. Petersburg).

The Chief Financial and Operating Officer is a critical position for the 
Wikimedia Foundation, and I am thrilled we have found such a 
highly-qualified person to handle this important role. Veronique's 
delighted to be joining us – she’s excited by the importance and global 
impact of our work, and is looking forward to being part of the 
open-source and free culture movement.

Please join me in welcoming her to the staff of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Thanks,
Sue



Sue Gardner
Executive Director
Wikimedia Foundation