[foundation-board] Proposal of candidates to the Board of Directors

[Tim Hubbard]

Proposal of candidates to the Board of Directors

I am writing on behalf of Karin and myself (as she is now off for up to 2 weeks).  Working closely with Shireen (for which many thanks), we have concluded the interview process and would like to propose six candidates, whose details are below, for appointment to the Board.

The specific questions we have for you  - 
Are 6 new members too many for the Board to manage?  Jane has already answered this, but it feels like we should all agree it.  Including Andrew, this would take the total number of Board members to 11.  However, if we factor in Jane’s imminent and Andrew’s departures, it will reduce the numbers to 9, and then with Karin’s departure 8.  Although we haven’t asked, there are a number of people we think would be good chairs within that group of 8, so we likely wouldn’t require another search when she steps down.
Do you wish to veto any of the proposed candidates on the basis of awareness of professional track record or any other factor that might prevent them from being appointed to our Board?  Their CVs and cover letters are linked below. We will, of course, carry out the required due diligence checks, following the process used for appointments to Viderum, including taking up two references by phone/video and requiring a signed declaration.
Two of the candidates are overseas, living in Germany and France, and one candidate is in Scotland.  All have said they need to travel reasonably regularly to the UK however this wouldn’t necessarily coincide with board meetings.  To date we have not had a policy of covering travel to meetings, but we probably need to consider this.  The financial costs associated with their travel and accommodation to attend Board meetings would be significant if we covered these costs for each meeting.  Any suggestions on what kind of policy we should consider would be appreciated.  (From no support at all, to 1 trip a year, or only flights…)?
Candidates proposed for appointment to the Board

1.Rufus Pollock <https://www.linkedin.com/in/rufus-pollock-00a86348/> - Founder and President of Open Knowledge.  Brings deep domain knowledge of the Open data movement and OK.  Research, fundraising and advocacy experience within our sector.  Links to Governments and open data networks. Based in France.

2. Vicky Brock <https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SOGv0WHoB1gNumO2ZuLOtNuWghHaiW_K?usp=sharing> - Has C-suite and governance experience and a digital and data technology background. As founder of data technology companies and advisor to high potential companies, Vicky brings very strong commercial and financial skills to the Board and a deep understanding of the challenges at start up and scale up stages for an organisation.
She has served on the board of Digital Analytics Association (DAA), a global non-profit data professional’s association. She was named Scotland’s most inspiring Business Person of 2017 at the Entrepreneurial Scotland Awards and was also named by Computer Weekly as one of the TOP 50 most influential women in UK IT in 2016.   Vicky is based in Renfrewshire, Scotland.

3. Jarmo Eskelinen <https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Wet1lsPOtUm1p_Y7B2VuwR0WnNE6JZQm?usp=sharing> - Has both C-suite and governance experience. Jarmo currently serves as a member of the Smart London Board and is the CITO of Future Cities Catapult. He is a member of Open Knowledge Finland and a co-founder of OASC (Open & Agile Smart Cities network). He brings commercial acumen, financial awareness and knowledge of open data to the Board. Jarmo is based in London.

4.  <applewebdata://F4A73FBA-15AC-4227-8315-4BC213055A83/%22http>Johnny West <https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnny-west-2509098/> - Founder of OpenOil.net <http://openoil.net/>, Johnny has had a long standing commitment to open data and an open world. He is on the Advisory Board of the Open Financial Modelling Standard (FAST). Johnny is very well networked in the Open space and brings deep knowledge of the open space, international networks and access (speaks five languages) as well as advocacy and media skills to the Board. Johnny is based in Berlin.

5. Irina Bolychevsky <https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/134cKvjoxfP5wkBO1GtMV1pBrXY7EBUIP?usp=sharing>  - Previously Commercial Director for Open Knowledge International, Irina has in-depth understanding of the organisation as well as the open space. In addition to her commercial experience, she brings fundraising skills and experience of working with Governments including in UK, Dubai and UAE. Irina is based in London.

6. Vanessa Barnett <https://drive.google.com/> - Data, IP and technology lawyer. Vanessa has worked with technology start-ups and understands the challenges around it. Vanessa  is based in London.

Next steps

If you agree the appointment of the 6 candidates to the Board, we will proceed with their appointment to the Board.

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Tim Hubbard
timjph at gmail.com <mailto:timjph at gmail.com> @timjph
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