World Wide Web Consortium welcomes Sylvia Cadena as Chief Development Officer

https://www.w3.org/ – 2 September 2024 – The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the leader for the technical development of the World Wide Web, has concluded the search for the inaugural Chief Development Officer. Sylvia Cadena joins the Team full-time mid-September, working remotely from Brisbane, Australia.

Sylvia Cadena is deeply embedded in the Web and Internet community, coming to us from APNIC where she served the technical community for the last 16 years, the last eight supporting the establishment of the APNIC Foundation as the Head of Programs and Partnerships as well as Acting CEO during a transition period. For around 30 years she has led collaborative Internet industry initiatives across the Asia Pacific region and Latin America and brings extensive experience in fundraising, program design and management, operations, compliance and reporting, transition and change management.

“My career started thanks to the opportunities that the Web opened. It empowered me to learn and grow, to see my culture, language and diversity represented online. I have been lucky to be part of how the Internet grew and developed, and I am still fascinated by the range of business ecosystems that the Web transforms. I am looking forward to joining a passionate team, fully committed to making it possible for humanity to experience all that the web has to offer, and to put my skills and experience to serve those that build the Web to really live up to the principles of accessibility, internationalization, privacy and security. If you’re passionate about this mission as well, please consider making a donation and get involved.”

W3C became a public-interest incorporated not-for-profit organization in 2023, a pivotal evolution since our establishment in 1994 as a cooperation between four academic institutions, compelling us to adopt a new structure, diversify funding to be in a better position to succeed in our mission. Sylvia joins us at this decisive time to help us set direction and ensure the longevity of our organization by defining our vision for financial security and development, by planning and implementing strategies to secure donors, grants, and contributions in support of the organization, and by communicating effectively the organization’s philanthropic value proposition, thus accelerating growth and success of our development portfolio.

“I am excited that Sylvia Cadena joins the W3C’s expert team, our international network of member organizations, and a broad community of contributors, to partner with me to help steward the World Wide Web Consortium into its future,” said Seth Dobbs, W3C President & CEO. “The Web Consortium found a leader it needed, who is passionate about the Web and its continuing potential to be a platform that addresses the challenges faced by society now and in the future. A leader who is resourceful, driven and creative to bolster the strength of our organization’s fundraising capabilities W3C has now for 30 years been at the heart of the technical standards that make the Web the open, shared, and critical infrastructure that has transformed the way billions of us live, work, and play and that the world relies on, and this appointment will help secure our future.”

About the World Wide Web Consortium

The mission of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is to lead the Web to its full potential by creating technical standards and guidelines to ensure that the Web remains open, accessible, and interoperable for everyone around the globe. W3C well-known standards HTML and CSS are the foundational technologies upon which websites are built. W3C works on ensuring that all foundational Web technologies meet the needs of civil society, in areas such as accessibility, internationalization, security, and privacy. W3C also provides the standards that undergird the infrastructure for modern businesses leveraging the Web, in areas such as entertainment, communications, digital publishing, and financial services. That work is created in the open, provided for free and under the groundbreaking W3C Patent Policy.

W3C's vision for "One Web" brings together thousands of dedicated technologists representing hundreds of member organizations and dozens of industry sectors. W3C is a public-interest non-profit organization incorporated in the United States of America, led by a Board of Directors and employing a global staff across the globe. For more information see https://www.w3.org/

End Press Release

Media Contact

Amy van der Hiel, W3C Media Relations Coordinator <w3t-pr@w3.org> 
+1.617.453.8943 (US, Eastern Time)