[okfn-advisory] Open Knowledge appoints Pavel Richter as new CEO!

Wed Apr 29 15:34:12 UTC 2015

Hi All,

I'm delighted to say the news about Pavel Richter's appointment is now
official. Blog post is here and PR is inlined below:

http://blog.okfn.org/2015/04/29/open-knowledge-appoints-pavel-richter-as-new-ceo/

I am also cc'ing Pavel on this email and he is also added to the Advisory
Council mailing list.

All the best,

Rufus

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release - 29th April 2015

Open Knowledge appoints Pavel Richter as new CEO

Open Knowledge is delighted to announce Pavel Richter as its new Chief
Executive Officer. Pavel’s appointment marks a new chapter in the
development of Open Knowledge which, over the last ten years, has grown
into one of the leading global organisations working on open data and open
knowledge in government, research, and culture.

Pavel has a rich and varied background including business as well as
leadership in the non-profit sector. In particular, Pavel brings his
experience from over five years as the Executive Director of Wikimedia
Deutschland: under his leadership, the organisation grew to more than 70
staff, an annual budget of nearly 5 million Euros, and initiated major new
projects such as Wikidata. Pavel’s engagement with Open Knowledge follows
an extensive international search, led by a team including members of the
Board of Directors as well as a community representative.

Karin Christiansen, Chair of Open Knowledge’s Board of Directors, said:

“We are delighted to have Pavel join Open Knowledge. This is an exciting
and important time for Open Knowledge with major opportunities for
development and growth. We are just starting to see the positive effects
that openness is having throughout the world, in our governments, our
cultural institutions, our businesses and our societies. Pavel’s leadership
will be vital to shape the organisation as it enters its second decade,
enabling and driving this change.”

Pavel Richter, Chief Executive Officer of Open Knowledge, said:

“I am excited to join Open Knowledge and to work for a world where
essential information is available to everyone. At Open Knowledge, I am
looking forward to setting ambitious goals, and working on a global scale -
and, especially, with developing countries. For me, openness is not an
add-on, but something that needs to be at the heart of our societies, sewn
into the fabric of the internet and our institutions. Open Knowledge is
already a leading international force in this area, and I feel privileged
to have the opportunity to lead such a great organisation and work with a
set of extraordinary and passionate  people, both staff and members of the
broader community.”

Rufus Pollock, President and Founder of Open Knowledge, said:

“I am delighted and excited to welcome Pavel as CEO. This marks an
important new chapter in the development of Open Knowledge as an
organisation and community. Over the last decade, and especially in the
last five years, we have achieved an immense amount. Going forward one of
our most important opportunities - and challenges - will be to forge and
catalyse a truly global movement to put openness at the heart of the
information age. Pavel’s experience, insight and passion make him more than
equal to this task and I am thrilled to be able to work with him, and
support him, as he takes on this role.”

ENDS

Contact: Rufus Pollock, President and Founder,  +44 (0) 7795 176976,
press at okfn.org

Notes for Editors

Open Knowledge http://okfn.org/ is an award-winning international
non-profit working to open up information around the world so it can be
used to empower citizens and organisations to build better, fairer and more
sustainable societies. Today it has groups in nearly 50 countries, and
working groups covering nearly 20 themes. The organisation has worked
extensively on almost every area of open knowledge and performed almost
every kind of activity: developing standards and licenses (e.g.
OpenDefinition.org <http://opendefinition.org/> and Open Data Commons
<http://opendatacommons.org/>), organising workshops and conferences (e.g. Open
Knowledge Festivals and Conferences <https://okfn.org/get-involved/events/>),
supplying tools and infrastructure (e.g. CKAN <http://ckan.org/> data
management software, used by data.gov.uk and many others, and the global
Open Data Index <http://index.okfn.org/>), and building services and
websites (e.g. Where Does My Money Go? <http://wheredoesmymoneygo.org/> and the
Public Domain Review <http://publicdomainreview.org/>).

Pavel Richter joins Open Knowledge as its Chief Executive Officer. He was
Executive Director of Wikimedia Deutschland
<https://www.wikimedia.de/wiki/Hauptseite>, and  pioneered the
internationally acclaimed Wikidata
<https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Main_Page> project which is now the
fastest growing project for open structured data; Wikimedia Deutschland
today supports thousands of volunteers in Germany, advocates nationally and
internationally for access to knowledge, and partners with universities and
cultural institutions. Pavel is in on the Advisory Board of Transparency
International Germany <http://www.transparency.de/> and Code for Germany
<http://codefor.de/>. Pavel holds a Masters Degree in Political Science,
History and Constitutional Law. He worked for 12 years as a management
consultant in the IT and banking industry, before he started to focus on
managing non-profit organisations. He is married, has one child, and likes
to cook, sometimes in public (see #whatpavelcooks on Twitter
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/whatpavelcooks>).  [Photo of Pavel Richter here
<https://drive.google.com/a/okfn.org/file/d/0BwgjY5eLOL77LVFYNmJBMi0tMEU/view>
]

Dr. Rufus Pollock, PhD founded Open Knowledge in 2004. He is an Ashoka
Fellow, an Associate of the Centre for Intellectual Property and
Information Law at the University of Cambridge, and was formerly a
Shuttleworth Foundation Fellow as well as  the Mead Fellow in Economics
Emmanuel College, Cambridge. As well as forming and leading Open Knowledge,
he co-founded the Open Rights Group and is an active advisor of the UK and
other governments in the area of openness, transparency and open data.
Recently, Nesta named Rufus one of their 10 tech heroes for good
<http://www.nesta.org.uk/10-tech-heroes-good/rufus-pollock>.   [Photo of
Rufus Pollock here <https://www.flickr.com/photos/okfn/9718797414/sizes/o/>]

Karin Christiansen is Chair of Open Knowledge’s Board of Directors
<https://okfn.org/about/board/>, the group that provides the formal
governance of the Open Knowledge organisation as a whole. Karin is General
Secretary of the Co-operative Party
<http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Co-operative_Party>, and is
co-founder and former Managing Director of Publish What You Fund
<http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Publish_What_You_Fund>. Karin has
been a Policy Manager at ONE <http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/ONE> and
Research Fellow at the Overseas Development Institute
<http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Overseas_Development_Institute> in
the Centre for Aid and Public Expenditure. She has worked as Economist at
the Rwandan Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and
for the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
<http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/United_Nations_High_Commissioner_for_Refugees>.
In 2011 Karin was named as one of the Devex London 40 Under 40
International Development Leaders.

-- 

Open Knowledge is a not-for-profit organisation.  It is incorporated in
England & Wales as a company limited by guarantee, with company number
05133759.  VAT Registration № GB 984404989. Registered office address: Open
Knowledge, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0WS, UK.

-- 

Naomi Lillie

skype: n.lillie  |  @naomilillie <https://twitter.com/NaomiLillie>

Open Knowledge <http://okfn.org/>    -    See how data can change the world

http://okfn.org/  |  @okfn <http://twitter.com/OKFN>  |  Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/OKFNetwork>  |  Blog <http://blog.okfn.org/>

Open Knowledge Community Stories | http://okfncommunity.tumblr.com/ | see
how people are changing the world

Open Knowledge is a not-for-profit organisation.  It is incorporated in
England & Wales as a company limited by guarantee, with company number
05133759.  VAT Registration № GB 984404989. Registered office address: Open
Knowledge, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0WS, UK.

-- 

*Rufus PollockFounder and President | skype: rufuspollock | @rufuspollock
<https://twitter.com/rufuspollock>Open Knowledge <http://okfn.org/> - see
how data can change the world**http://okfn.org/ <http://okfn.org/> | @okfn
<http://twitter.com/OKFN> | Open Knowledge on Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/OKFNetwork> |  Blog <http://blog.okfn.org/>*
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