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Lila Tretikov

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Lila Tretikov
Lila Tretikov, Executive Director
Lila Tretikov
Executive Director, Wikimedia Foundation

About me

Lila Tretikov is the Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides equal access to knowledge through services like Wikipedia, the world's largest encyclopedia, available in 285 languages and the fifth most popular website in the world.

Lila has been a leader in the technology space for almost 15 years. Most recently, she served as the Chief Product Officer for the open-source, cloud-based software vendor SugarCRM. SugarCRM sponsored an open source project with more than 30,000 contributors and deployed by over 1.5 million individuals in 120 countries and 26 languages. Lila’s responsibilities during her tenure included product strategy, engineering, operations, IT, product management, professional services, marketing, and user experience.

Lila began her career as an engineer at the Sun-Netscape Alliance working on the Java server. She later founded and grew information technology startups to offer support for customers in telecommunication, retail and banking. Her customers included Bank of America, Ameritrade, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Her work on the Human Genome Browser at Berkeley allowed her to combine her passion for large data systems with intelligent user interfaces.

Born in the Soviet Union, Lila experienced first-hand the rise of openness and transparency in government through the policy of glasnost. She developed a commitment to free and open information made possible by passionate people equipped with technology; a commitment she brings to her work at the Wikimedia Foundation and in the Wikimedia movement.

Lila studied Computer Science and Art at the University of California, Berkeley, where she did research work in machine learning; she holds patents for intelligent data mapping, dynamic language applications, and other technology innovations. In 2012, she received a Stevie Award For Women in Business. In 2014, Lila was named to Forbes' list of "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women" and was on the San Francisco Chronicle's "21 Most Powerful Women in Bay Area Technology."

My work

As the chief executive of the Wikimedia Foundation, I'm responsible for leading the Foundation, setting its strategy, and managing day-to-day operations. It's a central position in a complex global volunteer-driven movement, which is building the largest collection of shared knowledge in human history, used by over a half-billion people around the world.

Disclaimer: I work for the Wikimedia Foundation, and this is the account I intend to use for edits or statements I make in that role. However, the Foundation does not vet all my activity, so edits, statements, or other contributions made by this account may not reflect the views of the Foundation.

Contact me

  • E-mail: lila@wikimedia.org
  • Office: (415) 839-6885
  • Wikimedia username: LilaTretikov
  • Mailing address:
    Wikimedia Foundation
    149 New Montgomery Street
    Floor 6
    San Francisco, CA 94105
  • Twitter: @lilatretikov