[OpenID] [OpenID board] Fw: Introducing Don Thibeau: the OpenID Foundation’s new executive director

Fri Feb 20 04:30:11 UTC 2009

Congratulations! This is very good news.

Welcome, Don!!

On Feb 19, 2009, at 18:05, David Recordon wrote:

> From the blog: http://openid.net/2009/02/20/introducing-don-thibeau-the-openid-foundations-new-executive-director/
>
> Introducing Don Thibeau: the OpenID Foundation’s new executive  
> director
>  OpenID 2/20/09 2:58 PM Chris Messina Foundation News Comments
> The OpenID Foundation is happy to introduce Don Thibeau as our new  
> executive director. Don is taking over from Bill Washburn who helped  
> get the Foundation off the ground.
>
> Even with the substantial momentum that OpenID has gained already in  
> 2009, Don has his work cut out for him beyond our two main  
> priorities of improving user experience and security along with  
> increasing our outreach to and engagement of website operators and  
> end users. To get a sense for his priorities and anticipated plans  
> for the Foundation, I asked him some introductory questions:
>
> Q: How did you first learn about OpenID and what interests you in  
> the technology?
> A: I have been working with web transactions, privacy policy and  
> identity validation for a while now. So I’ve been watching OpenID  
> from the sidelines. I’ve wanted to take a deeper dive in how social  
> networks overlays those issues. The Foundation is at the  
> intersection of those issues and more. There’s no better place to be.
> Q: What challenges do you think OpenID faces that it must confront  
> in 2009?
> A: First and always, continue to balance the interests and be  
> responsive to all stakeholders, community members, and corporate  
> sponsors, etc.
>
> Second, to deal effectively with success. That means to make sure  
> the Foundation can responsibly sustain and accelerate the momentum  
> now underway.
>
> Q: What technologies or services suggest where you think the web  
> will go over the next several years?
> A: I know we at the beginning of the era of social networking. But  
> I’m not smart enough to know where the web will go. That’s one of  
> the things I like about this space.
>
> I do know the OpenID can be a “Front Door” for the web experience  
> for people, for users, for members across the board.
>
> Q: What experience do you have that you intend to bring to the OIDF?
> A: I have a career-long interest in identity authentication and a  
> personal passion for protecting individual privacy. It is a painful  
> irony that is seems our physical identity is more protected than our  
> digital identities.
>
> I come from the content creation and online transactions world. I  
> have the benefit of learning from naive and failed attempts at  
> walled gardens — proprietary plays and the like. So collaboration is  
> more than a mantra: it’s the only way this work gets done on a  
> corporate, community and personal level.
>
> Q: As ED, what will be your top three priorities?
> A: My short-term priorities are to build a foundation for growth.  
> It’s not sexy but “plumbing” is important. So my immediate focus  
> will be on making sure the Foundations’ finances and governance  
> issues are solid. The third priority is to begin planning for a  
> major OIDF event later in the year.
> Q: What are you most looking forward to with regards to OpenID in  
> 2009?
> A: I am blown away by with the level of engagement from all  
> stakeholders. The make-up of the new board reflects how articulate,  
> diverse and committed the community is. A physics professor of mine  
> pointed out the high correlation between passion and success. The  
> OIDF seems to have both in abundance.
> If you’d like to reach out to Don and welcome him, you can contact  
> him via email at don at oidf.org or leave a comment right here.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> board mailing list
> board at openid.net
> http://openid.net/mailman/listinfo/board

Johannes Ernst
NetMesh Inc.

   http://netmesh.info/jernst

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