Wikimedia hires open-source veteran as CTO
The Wikimedia Foundation, publisher of Wikipedia and other online sites, has hired open-source veteran Danese Cooper as chief technology officer.
Cooper "will be responsible for developing and executing Wikimedia's technical strategy and leading its technology team. This includes ensuring the Wikimedia sites, including Wikipedia, operate smoothly as readership continues to grow, as well as driving the continuing innovation of Wikimedia's software platform to service Wikimedia readers and editors," the foundation said in a statement.
Cooper's open-source work took her to Sun Microsystems from 1999 to 2005, then to Intel until 2009, and most recently to REvolution Computing.
"In order to continue successfully serving hundreds of millions of readers in hundreds of countries and languages, Wikimedia depends on an active community of volunteers to develop and localize the software. I'm counting on Danese to grow and develop that network," said Sue Gardner, executive director at Wikimedia Foundation, in a statement.
Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products, but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. He joined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered Google, Yahoo, servers, supercomputing, Linux and open-source software, and science. E-mail Stephen, follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stshank, or contact him through Google Buzz. 
