Hi Geoff,
{{welcome}} Welcome !!! Regards Theo On Sun, Feb 6, 2011 at 1:38 AM, Samuel Klein <meta...@gmail.com> wrote: > Welcome to Wikimedia, Geoff! May you find both challenges and > inspiration on our legal frontiers. > > SJ > > > Sue writes: > > Hey folks, > > > > I'm delighted to tell you that the Wikimedia Foundation has a new > > General Counsel. > > > > Geoff Brigham, formerly of eBay, will start with us March 7 once he's > > relocated from Paris to San Francisco. He'll report to me. > > > > To recap: In late October, I hired m|Oppenheim to find us a new > > General Counsel. I expected it to be a tough search, because > > appropriate GCs for the Wikimedia Foundation don't exactly grow on > > trees. As a growing U.S.-based non-profit that operates one of the > > world's most popular websites in partnership with a global network of > > volunteers, we need a GC who can handle a broad range of legal issues > > including the legal defense of our projects in an international > > context, an array of matters related to policy and regulatory > > compliance, issues such as privacy, and helping us with the challenges > > of opening a new office in India. Very few people have that kind of > > breadth. And for our GC as with all our jobs, we are also looking for > > someone who is passionate about the mission, has a collaborative and > > inclusive personal style, is inclined towards transparency, and > > ideally is a bit of an iconoclast. It's a lot to ask of one person :-) > > > > So we braced ourselves for a long and difficult search. But in fact it > > turned out to be highly enjoyable. Over a period of several months, > > m|Oppenheim talked with hundreds of connectors and candidates, and in > > the end we interviewed about a dozen finalists. They were terrific, > > inspiring lawyers: I was glad to meet them all. And I am delighted > > that we discovered Geoff. > > > > Geoff spent eight years at eBay during its main growth years, which > > gives him important experience managing the legal challenges and risks > > inherent in operating a popular site. His work at eBay encompassed > > North America, Europe, Asia and Australia where he handled legal > > issues throughout the world. He's worked alone and led large teams. He > > is hands-on, collaborative, open-minded and inclusive. And he is > > extremely excited about working with us. > > > > A little more about Geoff's background: Most recently, Geoff was > > Vice-President and Deputy General Counsel at eBay in San Jose, > > California. There, he directed legal affairs in more than 15 countries > > throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, encompassing > > litigation, copyright and trademarks, privacy, ethics, product and > > site content review, policy and regulatory compliance, new market > > advice, contracts, governance and site security. Previously he worked > > for eBay in Bern, Switzerland for four years as Vice-President & > > Senior Director, and in Paris, France for two years as Senior > > Compliance and Litigation Counsel. > > > > Prior to joining eBay, Geoff was Assistant United States Attorney in > > Miami, Florida. Before that he worked for the U.S. Department of > > Justice in Paris and Washington, was an Associate with Finley, Kumble, > > Wagner et al. in Washington, and was a law clerk for the Honorable > > Howard F. Corcoran, U.S. Judge for the District of Columbia. Geoff > > received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in > > Washington DC. He also holds a B.A. in Political Science and French, > > from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. > > > > He speaks English and French. He's a passionate music fan and an > > accomplished flute player: he used to busk many years ago, playing > > jazz and classical music on the Parisian streets, and he was well > > known at eBay for playing his flute in the office in the early > > mornings. Maybe that will happen at the Wikimedia Foundation too :-) > > > > Many thanks to Lisa Grossman of m|Oppenheim for leading this important > > search for us. My thanks also to everyone who helped Lisa and me > > define the General Counsel role and surface and interview candidates, > > including (roughly in order of their involvement) Erik Moeller, Cyn > > Skyberg, Kat Walsh, Arne Klempert, Stu West, SJ Klein, Barry Newstead, > > Veronique Kessler, Danese Cooper, Zack Exley, Jimmy Wales, Bishakha > > Datta, Matt Halprin, Gautam John, Pavel Richter and Shari Steele. My > > thanks also to Derrick Coetzee, who happened to be in the office one > > day and got pulled into an impromptu conversation helping brief Geoff > > about some of the issues facing us. I also want to thank Wikimedia > > France for staging its GLAM conference in Paris recently: Geoff > > attended it and says that meeting Wikimedians there, and watching them > > work, significantly contributed to his desire to join us. > > > > If I remember correctly how this list works, replies to this mail > > should go directly to foundation-l. (That's how it's intended to work: > > I hope it's actually true.) Geoff is subscribed to foundation-l, so > > if you do reply there, he'll see it. He doesn't yet have a Wikimedia > > e-mail address, but once he does, you will likely see it turn up on > > this and other lists. Please note he's not on the job until March 7: > > until then, he's only really available to us socially, not for work. > > > > Please join me in welcoming Geoff to the Wikimedia movement :-) > > > > Thanks, > > Sue > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > foundation-l mailing list > > foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l > > > > > > -- > Samuel Klein identi.ca:sj w:user:sj +1 617 529 > 4266 > > _______________________________________________ > foundation-l mailing list > foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l > _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l