During my 25 years at Mozilla, I’ve worn many hats, and this move is driven by a desire to streamline our focus and leadership for the challenges ahead. I’ve been leading the Mozilla business through a transformative period, while also overseeing Mozilla’s broader mission. It’s become evident that both endeavors need dedicated full-time leadership. 

Enter Laura Chambers, a dynamic board member who will step into the CEO role for the remainder of this year. Laura brings a wealth of experience, having been an active and impactful member of the Mozilla board for three years. With an impressive background leading product organization at Airbnb, PayPal, eBay, and most recently as CEO of Willow Innovations, Laura is well-equipped to guide Mozilla through this transitional period. 

Her focus will be on delivering successful products that advance our mission and building platforms that accelerate momentum. Laura and I will be working closely together throughout February to ensure a seamless transition, and in my role as Exec Chair I’ll continue to provide advice and engage in areas that touch on our unique history and Mozilla characteristics. 

Laura’s focus will be on Mozilla Corporation with two key goals: 

1. Vision and Strategy for the Future: Refining the company’s vision and aligning the corporate and product strategy behind it. This will be grounded in our mission and unique strengths and shaped by our point of view on technology’s future and our role in it.

2. Outstanding Execution: Focus, Processes, Capabilities: Doubling down on our core products, like Firefox, and building out our capabilities and innovation pipeline to bring new compelling products to market. 

While Laura takes on the reins as CEO of Mozilla Corporation, I will return to supporting the CEO and leadership team as I have done previously as Exec Chair. In addition, I will expand my work in two critical areas: 

1. More consistently representing Mozilla in the public – With a focus on policy, open source, and community — through speaking and direct engagement with the community.

2. Representing Mozilla as a unified entity – bigger than the sum of our parts — as we continue to strengthen and refine how all the entities work together to advance our policy and community goals with greater urgency and speed. 

We’re at a critical juncture where public trust in institutions, governments, and the fabric of the internet has reached unprecedented lows. There’s a tectonic shift underway as everyone battles to own the future of AI. It is Mozilla’s opportunity and imperative to forge a better future. I’m excited about Laura’s day-to-day involvement and the chance for Mozilla to achieve more. Our power lies in the collective effort of people contributing to something better and I’m eager for Mozilla to meet the needs of this era more fully. 

Thank you to everyone who participates in Mozilla, supports us, cheers us on, and works towards similar goals. Your dedication is the driving force behind Mozilla’s impact and success. Here’s to a future filled with innovation, collaboration, and continued success! 

The post A New Chapter for Mozilla: Focused Execution and an Expanded Role in Charting the Internet’s Future appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Today, I’m thrilled to announce that Mozilla Foundation is appointing four new members to its Board of Directors.

Over the years, I’ve written about our efforts to expand the Board, most recently in March 2023. Each time, I emphasize that by joining Mozilla’s Board, leaders commit to joining a movement for internet health that spans not just our staff, but also our community. 

This year, as Mozilla celebrated its 25th anniversary, we’ve sought leaders to help set up our “next chapter.” When we began our search, we were looking for three new Board members to help grow the scope and impact of the Mozilla Project overall, working closely with the Boards of the Mozilla Corporation, Mozilla.ai and Mozilla Ventures. We ended up finding four. 

– 

Alondra Nelson is the Harold F. Linder Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study. Dr. Nelson served as deputy assistant to President Joe Biden and acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. As a distinguished senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, and a science and technology policy advisor, she has provided guidance to local, state, and federal governments, legislators, civil society, and others. Selected by Nature to its international list of ten people who shaped science in 2022, she is the author of several books, most recently The Social Life of DNA, an award-winning exploration of the social implications of direct-to-consumer genetics. Her works also include Body and Soul, Genetics and the Unsettled Past, and Technicolor. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, Dr. Nelson is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Philosophical Society, the National Academy of Medicine, and the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Nelson brings deep technical and policy experience to the Mozilla Board, at a time when we’re investing in both.

Edwin Macharia is a Managing Partner at Auxum.Earth, an Afrocentric impact firm dedicated to fostering climate-positive inclusive growth across Africa and the Middle East. Edwin has held several roles spanning many sectors. After helping to establish their Nairobi office, Edwin became the Africa Regional Director for Dalberg Advisors where he was instrumental in building out the firm’s footprint, talent and capabilities in Africa. He pioneered their Agriculture & Food Security practice; chaired the Strategy, Impact & Quality Committee, one of two governing bodies in the firm; and incubated Dalberg Implement, which allows Dalberg to take strategy recommendations and work alongside its clients to bring them to life. He went on to become the Global Managing Partner at Dalberg Advisors. His expertise in strategic direction, grassroots development and fundraising will be vital to Mozilla. 

Raffi Krikorian builds teams and tech designed for impact – a clear fit for Mozilla. He is a former executive at Twitter, helped start and run the self-driving efforts at Uber, and joined the Democratic National Committee in 2016 as their first-ever Chief Technology Officer to entirely revamp its tech infrastructure. Raffi is currently the Chief Technology Officer at Emerson Collective where he considers data, tools, and product design with the aim of empowering teams to achieve their goals. Raffi is a graduate of M.I.T. and serves on numerous boards including TUMO; the Community Tech Alliance; and Medic. 

Zain Habboo is the Chief Marketing & Mobilization Officer at the International Rescue Committee where she manages an award winning large global communications and marketing team. Previously, Zain served as the social change agency Fenton’s Chief Digital & Creative Officer. Before joining Fenton, Zain was Senior Director of Digital and Multimedia Strategy at the UN Foundation, where she coordinated digital, video, photo, and mobile strategies across the organization.  During her time at the UN Foundation, there were many groundbreaking accomplishments, including helping launching the now global phenomenon #GivingTuesday, creating viral memes (the #unselfie) and social media innovations (#Instacorps), as well as global convergences such as the Social Good Summit and digital surge days. Zain was born in Iraq, raised in Jordan, and educated in the U.K., and brings a much-valued global approach and cultural understanding to her work. Zain is conversational in Arabic and French and has worked with organizations around the world on issues ranging from girls’ and women’s empowerment to climate change. Zain serves as a member of the board at the Mozilla Foundation and is a board member at PBS’s AmDoc POV series, she formerly served on the UN Foundation’s “Girl Up” board as well as the non-profit Too Young To Wed. Zain is a Global Human Development Fellow at Georgetown University and was a top finalist for the Washington Women in PR “Woman of the Year” award for 2020.

— 

When we kicked off this search, I said that “At the highest level, we are seeking people who can help our global organization grow and succeed — and who ensure that we advance the work of the Mozilla Manifesto over the long run.” I believe this group of talented and dedicated people will embody that. I am honored and proud to have them as our newest Board members.

Please join me in welcoming Alondra, Edwin, Raffi and Zain to the Board. Over the coming weeks, you’ll hear directly from them why they joined the Board.

The post Mozilla Foundation Welcomes Four New Board Members appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

It was a little less than a year ago that Dani came onboard as Mozilla’s interim chief people officer. The time working with her, and the search to date, made it clear to me that Dani is the right person for Mozilla. She brings with her decades of experience in leading high performing people teams, a keen strategic business focus, a deep understanding of our industry, and an extensive network and community in both the tech and human resource realms. 

“For the past 25 years, Mozilla has been the home to incredibly dedicated and talented teams of people who are pushing hard every day to make the internet a better place for everyone,” Dani said. “I feel deeply fortunate to play a part in building a welcoming and inclusive culture at Mozilla where everyone is engaged and empowered to meet the opportunities ahead of us for the next 25 years, with our mission as our guide.” 

As chief people officer, Dani will oversee all areas of HR and organizational development at Mozilla Corporation. With Dani in this role, Mozilla’s People Team will continue to support Mozilla in building a culture that is inclusive and collaborative, especially important as our organization and operations continue to grow and modernize.

I want to express my appreciation for Dani’s contributions over the last year, and I’m delighted that she will continue the work she is leading at Mozilla.

The post Dani Chehak, Mozilla’s new chief people officer appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

“A mentor once told me to ‘do differently’; I’ve taken that advice to heart and followed it to Mozilla. I am thrilled to be joining at a time when a company with such a storied history and brand is pivoting to show the world how you can run a business but by ‘doing it differently’,” said Suba. “The potential to deliver on key priorities while upholding Mozilla’s principles is huge and I’m excited to be a part in Mozilla’s unique vision for the web, and redefine responsible technology now and into the future.”

Suba spent well over two decades leading small and large teams in strategy, operations, analytics, customer support and trust & safety. Most recently, she has nurtured and expanded critical global organizations within Meta, driving innovation and trust. Prior, she advised clients across industries at KPMG’s Advisory Services and began her career as a journalist in India, exploring the intersection of technology and business.

For several years, Suba served as a Board Member for Mainspring Schools, a local non-profit in Austin, Texas for children from underprivileged families, leading their Strategic Planning Committee and demonstrating her commitment to community and inclusion-focused initiatives.

I look forward to working closely with Suba, especially as Mozilla continues to modernize, focusing on the consumer, and offering a range of new products and services.

The post Welcome Suba Vasudevan, Mozilla’s new senior vice president of strategy and operations appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

This year, “three thirty-one” is especially meaningful: It’s Mozilla’s 25 year anniversary.

A lot has changed since 1998. Mozilla is no longer just a bold idea. We’re a family of organizations — a nonprofit, a public benefit-corporation, and others — that builds products, fuels movements, and invests in responsible tech.

And we’re no longer a small group of engineers in Netscape’s Mountain View office. We’re technologists, researchers, and activists located around the globe — not to mention tens of thousands of volunteers.

But if a Mozillian from 1998 stepped into a Mozilla office (or joined a Mozilla video call) in 2023, I think they’d quickly feel something recognizable. A familiar spirit, and a familiar set of values.   

When Mozilla open-sourced our browser code 25 years ago, the reason was the public interest: We wanted to spark more innovation, more competition, and more choice online. Technology in the public interest has been our manifesto ever since — whether releasing Firefox 1.0 in 2004, or launching Mozilla.ai earlier this year.

Right now, technology in the public interest seems more important than ever before. The internet today is deeply entwined with our personal lives, our professional lives, and society at large. The internet today is also flawed. Centralized control reduces choice and competition. A focus on “engagement” magnifies outrage, and bad actors are thriving.  

Right now — and over the next 25 years — Mozilla can do something about this. 

Mozilla’s mission and principles are evergreen, and we will continue to evolve to meet the needs and challenges of the modern internet. How people use the internet will change over time, but the need for innovative products that give individuals agency and choice on the internet is a constant. Firefox has evolved from a faithful and efficient render of web pages on PCs to a cross-platform agent that acts on behalf of the individual, protecting them from bad actors and surveillance capitalists as they navigate the web. Mozilla has introduced new products, such as Firefox Relay and Mozilla VPN, to keep people’s identity protected and activity private as they use the internet. Mozilla is contributing to healthy public discourse, with Pocket enabling discovery of amazing content and the mozilla.social Mastodon instance supporting decentralized, community-driven social media.

We’re constantly exploring ways to apply new technologies so that people feel the benefits in their everyday lives, as well as inspire others to responsibly innovate on behalf of humanity. As AI emerges as a core building block for the future of computing, we’ll turn our attention in that direction and ask: How can we make products and technologies like machine learning work in the public interest? We’ve already started this work via Mozilla.ai, a new Mozilla organization focusing on a trustworthy, independent, and open-source AI ecosystem. And via the Responsible AI Challenge, where we’re convening (and funding) bright people and ambitious projects building trustworthy AI.  

And we will continue to champion public policy that keeps the internet healthy. There is proposed legislation around the world that seeks to maintain the internet in the public interest: the Platform Accountability and Transparency Act (PATA) in the U.S., the Digital Services Act (DSA) in the EU. Mozilla has helped shape these laws, and we will continue to follow along closely with their implementation and enforcement.  

On this “three thirty-one,” I’m realistic about the challenges facing the internet. But I’m also optimistic about Mozilla’s potential to address them. And I’m looking forward to another 25 years of not just product, but also advocacy, philanthropy, and policy in service of a better internet. 

The post A quarter century of Mozilla appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

With all of this in mind, we are seeking three new members for the Mozilla Foundation Board of Directors. These Board members will help grow the scope and impact of the Mozilla Project overall, working closely with the Boards of the Mozilla Corporation, Mozilla.ai and Mozilla Ventures. At least one of the new Board members will play a central role in guiding the work of the Foundation’s charitable programs, which focuses on movement building and trustworthy AI. 

What is the role of a Mozilla board member?

I’ve written in the past about the role of the Board of Directors at Mozilla.

At Mozilla, our board members join more than just a board, they join the greater team and the whole movement for internet health. We invite our board members to build relationships with management, employees and volunteers. The conventional thinking is that these types of relationships make it hard for executives to do their jobs. We feel differently. We work openly and transparently, and want Board members to be part of the team and part of the community.

It’s worth noting that Mozilla is an unusual organization. As I wrote in our most recent annual report: 

Mozilla is a rare organization. We’re activists for a better internet, one where individuals and societies benefit more from the effects of technology, and where competition brings consumers choices beyond a small handful of integrated technology giants.

We’re activists who champion change by building alternatives. We build products and compete in the consumer marketplace. We combine this with advocacy, policy, and philanthropic programs connecting to others to create change. This combination is rare.

It’s important that our Board members understand all this, including why we build consumer products and why we have a portfolio of organizations playing different roles. It is equally important that the Boards of our commercial subsidiaries understand why we run charitable programs within Mozilla Foundation that complement the work we do to develop products and invest in responsible tech companies.

What are we looking for?

At the highest level, we are seeking people who can help our global organization grow and succeed — and who ensure that we advance the work of the Mozilla Manifesto over the long run. Here is the full job description: https://mzl.la/MofoBoardJD2023 

There are a variety of qualities that we seek in all Board members, including a cultural sense of Mozilla and a commitment to an open, transparent, community driven approach. We are also focused on ensuring the diversity of the Board, and fostering global perspectives.  

As we recruit, we typically look to add specific skills or domain expertise to the Board. Current examples of areas where we’d like to add expertise include: 

1. Mission-based business — experience creating, running or overseeing organizations that combine public benefit and commercial activities towards a mission. 
2. Global, public interest advocacy – experience leading successful, large-scale public interest advocacy organizations with online mobilization and shaping public discourse on key issues at the core.
3. Effective ‘portfolio’ organizations – experience running or overseeing organizations that include a number of divisions, companies or non-profits under one umbrella, with an eye to helping the portfolio add up to more than the sum of its parts.

Finding the right people who match these criteria and who have the skills we need takes time. Board candidates will meet the existing board members, members of the management team, individual contributors and volunteers. We see this as a good way to get to know how someone thinks and works within the framework of the Mozilla mission. It also helps us feel comfortable including someone at this senior level of stewardship.

We want your suggestions

We are hoping to add three new members to the Mozilla Foundation Board of Directors over the next 18 months. If you have candidates that you believe would be good board members, send them to msurman@mozillafoundation.org. We will use real discretion with the names you send us.

The post Expanding Mozilla’s boards in 2023 appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Carlos stood out in the interview process because of his great breadth of experience across many topics including strategic and commercial agreements, product, privacy, IP, employment, board matters, investments, regulatory and litigation. He brings experience in both large and small companies, and in organizations with different risk profiles as well as a deep belief in Mozilla’s commitment to innovation and to an open internet.

“Mozilla continues to be a unique and respected voice in technology, in a world that needs trusted institutions more than ever,” said Torres. “There is no other organization that combines community, product, technology and advocacy to produce trusted innovative products that people love. I’ve always admired Mozilla for its principled, people-focused approach and I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to Mozilla’s mission and evolution.”

Carlos comes to us most recently from Flashbots where he led the company’s legal and strategic initiatives. Prior to that, he was General Counsel for two start ups and spent over a decade at Salesforce in a variety of leadership roles including VP, Business Development and Strategic Alliances and VP, Associate General Counsel, Chief of Staff. He also served as senior counsel of a biotech company and started his legal career at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

The post Announcing Carlos Torres, Mozilla’s new chief legal officer appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

As Chief Product Officer, Steve will be responsible for leading our product teams. This will include setting a product vision and strategy that accelerates the growth and impact of our existing products and setting the foundation for new product development.  His product management and technical expertise as well as his leadership experience are the right fit to lead our product teams into Mozilla’s next chapter. 

“There are few opportunities today to build software that is unambiguously good for the world while also being loveable for customers and great for business,” said Teixeira. “I see that potential in Firefox, Pocket, and the rest of the Mozilla product family. I’m also excited about being a part of the evolution of the product family that comes from projecting Mozilla’s evergreen principles through a modern lens to solve some of today’s most vexing challenges for people on the internet.”

Steve comes to us most recently from Twitter, where he spent eight months as a Vice President of Product for their Machine Learning and Data platforms. Prior to that, Steve led Product Management, Design and Research in Facebook’s Infrastructure organization. He also spent almost 14 years at Microsoft where he was responsible for the Windows third-party software ecosystems and held leadership roles in Windows IoT, Visual Studio and the Technical Computing Group. Steve also held a variety of engineering roles at small and medium-sized companies in the Valley in spaces like developer tools, endpoint security, mobile computing, and professional services. 

Steve will report to me and sit on the steering committee.

The post Announcing Steve Teixeira, Mozilla’s new chief product officer appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

As Chief People Officer, Kristen will be responsible for all areas of HR and Organizational Development at Mozilla Corporation with an overall focus on ensuring we’re building and growing a resilient, high impact global organization to support Mozilla’s next chapter.

“It was clear after my first days as interim CPO that Mozilla’s culture was one I would be lucky to be part of and months later that feeling has only grown,” said Trubey. “Mozilla’s core values and mission aren’t just slogans on a website, they are truly woven throughout every part of the company. I am excited to come on as a steward of that culture and to help scale an organization that promotes growth, inclusion, and excellence to help us reach our goals.”

Kristen comes to us most recently from Patreon, where she spent eight-months providing HR leadership and support. Prior to that, Kristen was Chief People Officer at Hearsay Systems, a mid-sized startup with offices around the world. She also spent more than five years at Netflix where she supported a variety of teams including a two year assignment in Amsterdam as the first HR leader in Europe as part of the company’s strategy to scale Netflix’s culture globally.

Kristen will continue to report to me and sit on the steering committee.

The post Kristen Trubey, Mozilla’s New Chief People Officer appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

As our CFO Eric will be a key member of our steering committee reporting to me. He will lead our continued strategy to scale our mission impact by growing and diversifying our revenue through new investments, product offerings and business opportunities that allow us to better serve our users and advance our agenda for a healthier, more joyful internet. 

Eric stood out as a candidate because of his deep operational expertise in both developing and leading organizations, strategic planning, and in growing revenue streams through operations, acquisitions and partnerships. He’s passionate about contributing to broader business issues outside of finance and has demonstrated a strong commitment to our mission and values.

“I’ve long admired Mozilla’s mission to shape the internet as a force for the public good, give people more control over their lives online, and build products that deliver on these promises,” said Muhlheim. “People are looking today more than ever for a trusted guide to help them navigate the web with safety and joy, and Mozilla has the perspective, technology, and products to be this guide. I look forward to putting my background and skills to work to help Mozilla achieve greater impact and build a better internet for everyone.”

Most recently, Eric provided strategic financial and operating services as an independent consultant to a variety of early stage and privately-funded startups. Prior to that, he served as Chief Financial and Administrative Officer at BuzzFeed where he oversaw the restructuring of the company to drive impact, creating a unified sales organization and managing Finance, Accounting, HR, Legal, IT, Facilities, and Security as an integrated operational support team. 

Eric started his career at The Walt Disney Company, where he held various leadership roles over more than 15 years, including spending three years as an expatriate in China managing the expansion of Disney English, the company’s China-based learning center business. Following his tenure at Disney, Eric was CFO at Helix Education, a provider of technologies and services to power data-driven higher education growth, and at the programmatic advertising exchange OpenX Technologies.

Eric currently serves on the boards of the Independent Shakespeare Co. of Los Angeles and Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills. He graduated from Princeton University cum laude in Mathematics and holds an MBA from The Stanford Graduate School of Business. He’s based in Los Angeles, California. 

Please join me in welcoming Eric to Mozilla.

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