Hi everyone,
Over the past year, the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees has been
reviewing and evolving our appointment and onboarding process for new Board
members. While that has resulted in some lingering vacancies, we knew it
was important to update these processes to help maintain a cordial and
productive Board.
The updated appointment process provides the entire board with more
detailed (albeit private) information about each candidate’s background,
public profile, past professional and volunteer work, and ability to
contribute to the Board. The updated onboarding process is meant to help
Board members learn about the processes and expectations of our Board more
quickly to help reduce productivity lost to transitions. Special thanks to
everyone serving on the Board Governance Committee and Nataliia for the
work they have put into these improvements!
I am also incredibly excited to share that these efforts have helped us
identify and appoint an amazing addition to the Wikimedia Foundation Board
of Trustees! At our October meeting, the Board appointed and welcomed Raju
Narisetti to fill one of the vacant expert seats.
Raju is a veteran media executive and journalist and brings a wealth of
communications experience to the board. He is also a veteran of nonprofit
governance and currently serves on the board for the International Center
for Journalists and Institute for International Education. I am confident
he will be a very valuable addition to the board and thrilled that he has
agreed to join us!
We will continue to make improvements to our governance processes, for
example with the learnings from the on-going governance review, and apply
what we have learned to future appointments and filling our remaining
vacancy. Thank you for everyone’s patience as we took a pause and worked on
recruiting the best possible candidates, rather than simply rushing to fill
the seats.
In the meantime, below (and on the Wikimedia Blog) you will find the
official announcement about Raju Narisetti and please join me in warmly
welcoming him to the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees and to the
Wikimedia movement!
Christophe
Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
Raju Narisetti joins Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
Media veteran brings nearly three decades of global strategic experience in
digital media and audience development to the Wikimedia Foundation Board
Image:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raju_Narisetti_-_International_Jour…
San Francisco, CA, October 16, 2017 — The Wikimedia Foundation today
announced the appointment of Raju Narisetti, a veteran media executive and
journalist, to the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees.
Raju brings more than 29 years of media experience across three continents.
He is currently CEO of Univision Communications Inc’s Gizmodo Media Group,
the publisher of websites including Gizmodo, Jezebel, Lifehacker and The
Root.
“Raju has dedicated his life’s work to information as a public service. His
commitment to editorial integrity, independence, and inclusion is deeply
aligned with Wikimedia values. His passion and expertise in digital
strategy and international growth will be invaluable to our movement’s
future as we advance our global free knowledge mission,” said Wikimedia
Foundation Executive Director, Katherine Maher.
Prior to joining the Gizmodo Media Group, Raju served as Senior Vice
President, Strategy, at News Corp, one of the largest media companies in
the world and the publisher of The Wall Street Journal and The Times of
London. In that role, Raju was responsible for identifying new digital
growth opportunities globally for News Corp.
“There has never been more urgency in Wikipedia's 16-year history than now,
for upholding the values of free exchange of information and knowledge,”
said Raju. “Despite mounting challenges around the world, rapid innovation
is creating tremendous opportunities for the Wikimedia Foundation. I have
much to learn, but am also looking forward to lending my nearly three
decades of global media experiences to the movement, to help engage more
digital and mobile audiences, particularly diverse young people, and
harness their energy to benefit from—and support—the vital values that
underpin all Wikimedia initiatives.”
Before joining News Corp, Raju spent nearly 25 years as a journalist and
editor. He started at The Economic Times in India before moving to The
Dayton Daily News (Ohio), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), and The Washington
Post. Starting out as a summer intern at WSJ, he eventually became Editor
of The Wall Street Journal Europe and later Managing Editor of WSJ’s
digital newsrooms. At The Washington Post, he was the Managing Editor who
led the Post’s rethinking of its separate digital and print newsrooms and
operations.
A native of Hyderabad, India, Raju is also the founder of Mint, currently
India’s second-largest daily business newspaper by circulation.
“Raju's extensive international and journalistic experience will add
valuable perspective to the Board as we look to bring new voices from
around the world into our movement. I am impressed by his willingness to
learn about and embrace the values behind the Wikimedia movement, and look
forward to working with him to support our free knowledge mission,” said
Nataliia Tymkiv, Governance Chair for the Board.
Raju is currently the Vice-chair for the Board of Directors of the
International
Center for Journalists
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Center_for_Journalists>, as
well as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Institute of
International Education
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_of_International_Education>, which
administers the Fulbright Scholarship
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulbright_Scholarship> programmes. He lives
in Brooklyn, New York.
Raju joins eight other Foundation Trustees
<https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Board_of_Trustees> who collectively
bring expertise in the Wikimedia community, financial oversight,
governance, and organizational development; and a commitment to advancing
Wikimedia’s mission of free knowledge for all.
He was approved unanimously by the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees.
His term is effective October 2017 and will continue for three years.
Please see the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
<https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Board_of_Trustees> for complete
biographies.
###
About the Wikimedia Foundation
The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that supports and
operates Wikipedia and its sister free knowledge projects. Wikipedia is the
world’s free knowledge resource, spanning more than 45 million articles
across nearly 300 languages. Every month, more than 200,000 people edit
Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, collectively creating and improving
knowledge that is accessed by more than 1 billion unique devices every
month. This all makes Wikipedia one of the most popular web properties in
the world. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is
a 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants.
Christophe HENNER
Chair of the board of trustees
chenner(a)wikimedia.org
+33650664739
twitter *@schiste* skype *christophe_henner*
