Board

The Board is responsible for the day to day running of the chapter and is elected by the membership at the Annual General Meeting. Members of the Board act as Directors of the company and as trustees.

Current Members

The current members were elected at the 2010 AGM:

• Andrew Turvey - Chair
• Michael Peel - Secretary
• Thomas Dalton - Treasurer
• Joseph Seddon - Director
• Steve Virgin - Director

Biographies

Andrew Turvey

Andrew Turvey

Andrew Turvey is currently Chair of Wikimedia UK (from April 2010). He served as Secretary since the creation of Wikimedia UK in late 2008 until April 2010.

Email: andrew.turveywikimedia.org.uk

Michael Peel

Mike Peel

Michael Peel is currently Secretary of Wikimedia UK (from April 2010). He served as Membership Secretary from late 2008 to April 2009, and Chair from April 2009 to April 2010. A graduate and currently a doctorate student of the University of Manchester, Mike first edited the English Wikipedia in March 2005 and the Wikimedia Commons since July 2006. Like a lot of new editors, he started editing because he got irritated by a few grammar errors he saw. Since that time, Mike has made over 14,000 edits on the English Wikipedia, and uploaded over 350 photos onto the Wikimedia Commons. He has been an admin on the English Wikipedia since July 2007. Outside of Wikimedia, Mike is an astrophysicist with knowledge of programming, web design and photography.

Email: michael.peelwikimedia.org.uk

Thomas Dalton

Thomas Dalton is currently Treasurer of Wikimedia UK (from April 2010). Before that, he was Head of Fundraising.

Email: thomas.daltonwikimedia.org.uk

Joseph Seddon

Joseph Seddon

As Wikimedian, Joseph Seddon first joined wikipedia in 2006. Joseph Seddon has served as Events & Conferences Director between April 2009 and April 2010, and is currently a Director at Large.

Email: joseph.seddonwikimedia.org.uk

Steve Virgin

Steve Virgin

Steve Virgin has served as Corporate Relations Director from April 2009 until April 2010, and is currently a Director at Large.

Email: steve.virginwikimedia.org.uk

Steve is currently working (on behalf of the Board) on a series of iniatives designed to build up contact networks with the educational, business and governmental communities. He is seeking to line up contacts and opportunities for Wikimedia UK and its membership, that can help lay the foundation for exciting projects for 2010 AND beyond. The hard work put in between now and the next Board election next spring will provide a springboard of opportunity for the national chapter and then, next year's board can have actions and plans already in place when it takes office - that can quickly build membership,unearth even more committed volunteers, increase national prestige, recognition and pride in what we do outside of our own circles - and excite and enthuse all involved.

Duties

Board members have certain legal duties and responsibilities, which include:

1. To act only within the powers given to them by the Articles of Association
2. To act in good faith and with integrity to promote the success of the chapter in achieving its purposes, with regard, where necessary to long term effects and the interests of employees, the community, the environment, relations with suppliers and customers, standards of business conduct and fair acting between members of the chapter
3. To use the chapter's resources reasonably and only for the promotion of its purposes
4. To exercise independent judgement and reasonable care, skill and diligence and consider getting external professional advice on all matters where there may be material risk to the chapter, or where the board members may be in breach of their duties
5. To avoid conflicts of interest, declare them where necessary in accordance with applicable law and not to accept benefits from third parties where these may give rise to a conflict of interest
6. To avoid undertaking activities that might place the chapter's assets or reputation at undue risk, ensure that the chapter remains solvent.

In addition, the chapter's Board members are personally required to ensure that the chapter complies with its other legal duties such as those arising from being an employer and its reporting obligations to Companies House and the tax authorities.

To be eligible to act as a Board member, a person must be:

1. A member of the chapter, or nominated by a member
2. 16 years old or over
3. prepared to publicly disclose their real name, date of birth, and the names of any other companies they are the director of. Note that residential addresses are no longer disclosable.
4. not an undischarged bankrupt, a person whose estate has been "sequestrated", who has made an undischarged arrangement with creditors or has granted a trust deed in favour of their creditors
5. not disqualified from acting as a company director or removed as a charity trustee by the Charity Commission, the High Court or the Court of Session (Scotland)
6. not convicted of any offence involving deception or dishonesty which is not a "spent" conviction - even if it was not in the UK