Becky Hogge to be new ORG Executive Director

I’m delighted to announce that Becky Hogge is going to be taking over from me as ORG’s new full-time Executive Director on 15 January 2007. We had some great applicants for the post, but Becky shone as someone who will be able to bring ORG many new successes over the coming months and years. Becky joins us from Open Democracy, where she worked first as Managing Editor, then as Technology Director. She’s been writing campaigning journalism on digital rights for several years, and she has a lot of experience in bootstrapping young organisations, particularly in the not-for-profit world. We’ve already done some work with Becky, who drafted the Release The Music briefing pack, so I look forward to more great things from her! I will be moving to a position on the ORG Board, from where I hope to do a lot more blogging and policy writing, and can help Becky steer ORG through what are some really complicated waters. The last year and a half has been an astonishing success – I don’t think any of us thought that ORG would have as much influence now as it has shown in the past weeks with the Gowers Review, and I am very proud of what we have achieved. I couldn’t possibly have done it without help from ORG’s Board and Advisory Council, and of course, Michael Holloway our Operations Manager, and the various volunteers who help keep ORG going. You all know who you are, and you know how grateful I am for your help. I hope you will show Becky the same kindness and support that you have given me. It’s not without some sadness that I prepare to leave the position of Executive Director. ORG feels like my baby. But I know that Becky is going to do an excellent job, and I’m genuinely excited to be working with her. I know she’s going to share my vision for ORG’s future, and that she’ll bring her own ideas and opinions to the table to make sure that we keep up our pioneering work. After all, we’ve already scored an unprecedented victory over term extension, and I’m sure that there’ll be a lot more work to do to secure that. Becky is going to be our first full-time member of staff, so it’s more important than ever that we all continue our donations – a fiver a month is all we ask. And Becky will ensure that we continue to get a great return on our donation!