About Kadir Topal

I’m Kadir, currently the SUMO Product Manager at Mozilla, living in Duisburg, Germany. You can get in touch via email: atopal at mozilla.com

In 2002 I found a newly created open source project called phoenix which was aimed at creating a web browser for the best user experience on the web. I was hooked immediately, and took over the German leg of the project to localize the browser and build a community around it in Germany. In the following years the project became known as Firefox, and is now one of the most used applications on the planet with over 430 Million users worldwide, and 43 Million in German speaking countries.

In the mean time I finished my MA studies in German Language and Literature, Computational Linguistics and Political Sciences. In Computational Linguistics I finished about Human-Computer-Interaction, in Political Sciences about theories of European integration (EU). My finishing thesis is titled ‘Online Communication in Virtual Teams’.

In 2010 I became the first Support Community Manager at Mozilla, and am now the Product Manager for SUMO. In that position I am working with our global army of awesome volunteers, designers, and developers, designing the best possible tools for our users and contributors, and helping more and more people become part of a global movement to make the web a better place – because the Internet is too important a medium for humanity to leave it to commercial interests only.

I love to spend my time away from the computer with my guitar, an Epiphone Hummingbird, watching the IMDB top 250 list with friends, or taking pictures with my first DSLR, a Nikon D40.