The OpenID Foundation has covered a lot of ground in the last 1.5 years since its inception. We consolidated a number of internet identity efforts, built an organization charged with promoting and protecting the efforts of this fantastic community, developed an Intellectual Property Process that will ensure OpenID stays open, brought a number of the major vendors as participants in the community. and are seeing the first signs of deployment.

Bill Washburn has been the Executive Director of the OpenID Foundation since January 2007 and was instrumental in all these achievements. BIll took a leap of faith during the formation of the Foundation, working tirelessly on the promise that it we would succeed. Bill’s skills as a mediator and his passion for the Foundation’s mission made the impossible possible. In short, without Bill, the OpenID Foundation would not exist. We, as a community, owe a huge debt of gratitude to him for all of the work that he has done.

As is true with any growing organization, a time comes when a different set of skills are needed as the organization moves from one phase to another. That time has come for the Foundation. The Foundation now needs a more operationally focused Executive Director to deliver on the Foundation’s new needs. Bill Washburn will remain on to help with the recruiting and transition. If you think you have the right stuff for the OpenID Foundation, please drop us a line at board@openid.net.