Hello Everyone
While the minutes of the Board of Trustees meeting will arrive in due time I wanted to update you on some internal matters at this point because there have been some changes in the board composition.
Ana Toni joined our board last year but unfortunately the time demands placed upon a Wikimedia Board member were not compatible with her other commitments. This has given the board something to think about. We aim to be a board that is able to incorporate outside expertise to increase our effectiveness and possible candidates are often not able to commit the time which we currently require.. In the coming period we want to have a look at the time which is demanded of a board member (especially our in person meetings which require a lot of travel) and look at which activities we need to perform as a board. We want to thank Ana for her contributions. The insights gained from her position as Chair of Greenpeace International were especially useful to us as a board. We are sad to see her go, but we hope to keep her in “our space”.
Bishakha Datta joined our board in March 2010 and has indicated to us that she is not available for re-appointment after her term runs out in December of this year. We will take the time to properly thank her for her great contributions when her term formally ends in December.
While these things are part of of the normal turnover of the composition of the board (and are also an opportunity to attract new fields of expertise as needed) there is a matter of board stability during the first year of the tenure of our new Executive Director. In response to Lila's request for stability the board has decided the following:
1) Alice Wiegand was appointed to finish out Ana's term ending December 2014. We also appointed Alice to carry out the subsequent term ending December 2016.
2) Last year at Wikimania I was appointed to the board for a two year period, but I tendered my resignation effective the end of this year. At the Board's request I reconsidered that resignation, and will serve out the rest of my original two year term ending December 2015.
This does mean we will start the search process for a new board member for the appointed seat that Bishakha will vacate at the end of this year. And hopefully we will be able to also identify potential candidates to fill the seats of both Stuart West and me, which will become vacant at the end of 2015.
Secondly we have appointed the two officer positions as follows for the coming fiscal year
Chair - Jan-Bart de Vreede Vice-Chair - Patricio Lorente
The foundation has a great opportunity to grow under the guidance of our new Executive Director and realize our ambitions. The board is looking forward to a year of supporting Lila and providing direction for our strategic goals.
Jan-Bart de Vreede Chair Board of Trustees Wikimedia Foundation
PS: All the relevant resolutions will be published on meta in the coming days