Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director Transition Team/2013/Minutes Meeting 19th of September

Purpose of the meeting: To narrow down a midlist of candidates into a provisional shortlist for interviewing the week of 7 October 2013.

Attending: Jan-Bart de Vreede, Alice Wiegand, Phoebe Ayers, Kat Walsh, Sue Gardner, Erik Moeller, Geoff Brigham, Gayle Karen Young, Mark Oppenheim, Lisa Grossman

Background: m/Opp has been sourcing candidates since July. To date they've connected with hundreds of candidates and connectors. Prior to the meeting m/Opp had distributed to the TT a full list of everyone who had applied for the position or who had been referred as a potential candidate by somebody else, and the TT had been invited to scrutinize the full list and request further materials for people they felt might be promising. m/Opp had also distributed its initial suggested midlist of about 25 candidates who seemed to them to best fit the job requirements, as well as CVs and other materials for those people. Prior to the meeting the TT reviewed and discussed these materials over a period of several weeks.

In the meeting, m/Oppenheim presented the current slate of potential shortlist candidates to the WMF TT. Candidates represented a mix of backgrounds and experiences including start-ups, large sites, non-profit organizations, educational institutions and media organizations, and represented multiple nationalities. During the meeting, m/Opp walked the TT through each candidate, and each was discussed individually. Also, TT members nominated additional people to move from the midlist to the shortlist, and discussed each of the nominations. The result of the meeting was a provisional shortlist of seven candidates to be interviewed during the week of 17 October.

That list will change over time, because of course m/Opp will continue to source new candidates throughout the recruiting process, and new candidates may be added to the shortlist at any point, including after the Round One interviews conclude. Also, there are a number of existing candidates for whom information is at this point partially incomplete: as m/Opp gathers information, candidates currently on the midlist may move to the shortlist.

During the weeks between today and the beginning of interviewing, m/Opp will continue to engage with prospects. Round One of interviewing will probably begin in week of 7 October.