Exclusive: Wikimedia CEO is leaving
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Photo Illustration: Annelise Capossela. Photo: Gabriel Diamond via Wikimedia Commons
Maryana Iskander, CEO of the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, plans to step down early next year, Axios has learned first.
Why it matters: A search for a new CEO is underway in a critical moment for AI and the digital media ecosystem.
- Iskander has led Wikipedia's parent organization since 2022 and oversaw efforts to develop new funding sources, expand its footprint of data centers and increase public trust in the platform.
Driving the news: The foundation's board of trustees has begun a global search for a new CEO, Iskander said in a memo sent to staffers.
- "I will remain in my role until a new CEO is in place," Iskander said in the note. "The hope is to welcome a successor by January 2026, a milestone that coincides with Wikipedia's 25th anniversary."
- Iskander said her departure is part of an organized succession plan and that she began discussions with the nonprofit's board more than a year ago.
What they're saying: Iskander, who began her tenure with a global listening tour, said she ended up with a long list of priorities, many of which have been accomplished.
- "We've expanded our technical infrastructure [including] more data centers in more places," Iskander said in an interview. "We have more donors than we did before."
- In addition to donations, Wikipedia has expanded a program designed to encourage large technology companies that make extensive use of its data to contribute financially.
- "What Maryana did over the last four years is bring [the organization] from post-teenage years into young adulthood," said McKinsey partner Raju Narisetti, the Wikimedia board member who led the search for Iskander and will also spearhead the effort to find her successor.
The intrigue: Narisetti said the challenge is finding someone who can lead an organization with nearly 700 staff members and a nearly $200 million annual budget while inspiring the hundreds of thousands of volunteers that keep its services running.
- "It's not a very conventional CEO role," Narisetti told Axios. "You are essentially getting a global community of volunteers to move in the right direction."
Check out Axios AI+ later this week for more from Iskander, including how the organization is grappling with the generative AI boom as well as political attacks here and abroad.
