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

Fri Apr 26 17:20:24 UTC 2013

On 17 April 2013 16:46, Rufus Pollock <rufus.pollock at okfn.org> wrote:
> 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.

+1

>
> 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
>> Dir: +44 (0)20 7630 2472 | Mob: +44 (0)7899 891 943
>> www.canonical.com | www.ubuntu.com
>>
>>
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