Wikimedia’s new leadership move
Wikimedia, parent nonprofit of Wikipedia, announced today the appointment of Sue Gardner to the post of “consultant and special advisor.” She was formerly with CBC.ca. There will also be another significant announcement soon regarding other staff at the Foundation.
Full announcement below from the chair of the Wikimedia Foundation board of trustees:
Dear Wikimedians,
Please join me in welcoming Sue Gardner to the Wikimedia Foundation. Sue joins us today as a consultant and special advisor to the Wikimedia Board of Trustees.
Sue’s arrival is an important step for Wikimedia as we continue to evolve as an organization. We want to ensure sustainability and reliability, as well as set the stage for future growth: Sue’s role is to help us do that. She is well-suited to the job: she’s consensus-oriented (which as we know is important in an organization like ours), and she has experience leading change and managing transitions like the one we’re facing. She is sympathetic to our goals and values, and also has some experience with collaborative projects.
Sue will be responsible for assessing and improving all aspects of the Foundation’s operations. This means she’ll be taking a look at how we do things today –everything from staffing to fundraising to financial controls– and recommending improvements.
Sue comes to us from CBC.CA, the website of Canada’s national public broadcaster, and that country’s largest and most popular news site. Under her leadership as Senior Director there, CBC.CA more than doubled its audience size, and won dozens of international awards. Prior to running CBC.CA, she was a journalist for 10 years, writing for magazines and newspapers, and making documentaries and talk programming for media companies such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the British Broadcasting Corporation and National Public Radio.
Please join me in welcoming her.
