[foundation-board] PROPOSAL: Appointment of Karin Christiansen to Board and as Board Chair

Wed Apr 17 15:46:30 UTC 2013

Hi Jane,

Thank-you very much for the comments. Very useful. As we discussed at the
meeting in March we have been looking for the Chair for a while and I
believe Karin will be excellent as a board member and as Chair.

That said I also think your proposal makes a great deal of sense. I presume
this implies a small change to the Proposal:

*To appoint Karin Christiansen as a new Board member*.

The appointment of Acting Chair (and possibly as official chair) can then
occur as you describe.

@Jane: would you be happy formally to vote for this revised motion?

@All: to avoid any confusion in thread I would ask board members to specify
this motion when they vote.

Regards,

Rufus

On 17 April 2013 10:31, Jane Silber <jane.silber at canonical.com> wrote:

>  Hi -
>
> I have been thinking about this and was hoping to see a bit of discussion
> before posting a response.  But given the silence I'll lead off...
>
> I'm genuinely undecided about how to respond.  My gut says that it will be
> okay because I have a great deal of trust in Rufus and Laura, and think
> they have a clear idea of what the Board needs and what will help the
> organisation most. I think they've undertaken a widespread search with open
> minds, and have identified an excellent candidate.  Additionally, Karin's
> background is relevant and impressive.
>
> On the other hand, it's hard to give my support to a candidate that I have
> essentially little information on.  It's not that I have any specific
> concerns about Karin, but rather that I have little on which to base a
> recommendation, positive or negative.
>
> On yet another hand, it seems this is approximately the level of scrutiny
> and review that I (and I assume) other board members underwent before
> joining.  And while I think what should happen is that some of the existing
> board members interview Karin, I myself don't have time to do that and so
> can't expect others to do so.
>
> Overall I am neutral-to-positive on the motion.
>
>  I'm guessing from the silence on the list that others may be struggling
> as well. So if that's the case, here's one idea that may unblock things:
>
> - we could appoint Karin to the board with immediate effect (as her
> background clearly justifies that and it seems in keeping with selection of
> other board members)
> - since she has her own reasons for her involvement not to be made public,
> the initial position could simply be as a board member (public or not).  We
> could then ask her, as a board member, to be Acting Chair.   That would
> allow the internal focus, allow everyone to appreciate how wonderful she
> is, etc. It doesn't have to be public.
> - in 3 months time (or whenever), if all is well and her concern about
> publicity has passed, then we can appoint her to be Chair.  If those 3
> months haven't gone well, then no harm has been done and the search for a
> chair continues.
>
> regards,
> Jane
>
>
>
>
> On 15/04/13 09:54, Rufus Pollock wrote:
>
> Dear Board Members,
>
> I've writing to propose the following motion:
>
> *To appoint Karin Christiansen as a new Board member and Chair of the
> Board*.
>
> More details regarding Karin and her suitability for chair can be found
> below. Please *indicate your support (or opposition) to this motion by
> responding to this email* with the *next few days.*
>
>  If you have any questions or would like to discuss this please just
> email (or, if phone is preferable, give me a call on 07795 176 976).
>
> Regards,
>
> Rufus
>
> ## Context
>
> After some extensive searching over the last few months Laura and I are
> very happy to say that we've found a great candidate as a new board member
> and board chair: Karin Christiansen. Karin was discussed in this regard at
> the last board meeting in March and my understanding was that there was
> general support for approaching her.
>
> Karin was previously managing director of Publish What You Fund (and
> remains on their board) and is currently the Secretary General of the
> Cooperative party. Karin therefore has experience both of relevant sectors
> but, more importantly, of senior management and board experience at NGOs.
>
> Some more detail of Karin's experience can be found here in her linked in
> profile: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=11956354
>
> Based on recent meetings with Karin and past experience I think Karin will
> be a great addition to the board and an excellent chair (Laura, who also
> met with Karin, strongly agrees). This is a view shared by others who know
> her (such as Martin who worked with her at Publish What You Fund).
>
> Some points to mention:
>
> * Karin is now Secretary General of the Cooperative Party (which is
> closely associated with Labour). We are non-partisan and rarely directly
> involved in day-to-day political matters, however, on the informal call
> last week, some people raised concerns that this could be an issue. To
> resolve this Martin Tisne offered to sound some relevant Conservative. He
> has now done so and reported that Karin as chair would NOT be an issue.
>
> * Karin is happy to join as a board member and chair as soon as convenient
> (subject, obviously to board approval). However, due to commitments in her
> current position she would prefer for us not to make lots of noise about
> the announcement for a couple of months and for initial activities to be
> inward focused (i.e. board meetings, coaching or support to Laura and I,
> general advice).
>
>
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> Jane Silber | CEO | Canonical
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