ICANN Still Searching for Top Level Exec

An Executive Search Committee led by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) Chairman, Vince Cerf is still soliciting nominations to fill the organization's position of president and CEO.

Stuart Lynn, president and CEO of ICANN since March 2001, will retire from the position during the first quarter of 2003, at the end of his two-year contract. Lynn made the announcement in May to give the corporation ample time to replace him. The Search Committee hopes to hire Lynn's replacement by late 2002 or early 2003.

ICANN, a non-profit corporation based in Marina del Rey, Calif., coordinates names, addresses and protocols for the Internet.

Lynn, whose previous experience in Internet technology includes professional affiliations with IBM, Cornell University, and University of California, Berkeley, said he is stepping down to attend to his personal life and his health.

Under Lynn's direction, ICANN implemented seven new Top Level Domains (TLDs), the first since the 1980s, and developed protocols for internationalized domain name standards. Lynn also managed the organization's evolution and reform project, which included a reformation of the ICANN board, policy development and structural reform.

ICANN's board of trustees currently consists of 19 directors: nine at-large members, selected by ICANN's supporting organizations, plus the president and CEO.

There is at least one director from each of five geographical regions: Africa, Asia/Australia/Pacific, Europe, Latin America/Caribbean, and North America.

ICANN meets three or four times a year in locations around the world. The corporation first convened in Singapore in March 1999. This year, they met in Accra, Ghana in March, Bucharest, Romania in June, and Shanghai, China in October. Their final meeting of the year is scheduled for December 14-15, 2002 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Constant attention to ICANN's reformation has distracted the board from a major goal of managing top level domain (TLD) names, Lynn said in a statement published on ICANN's website.

Now that the reform process is nearly finished, he said, ICANN can take action on several key issues, including Lynn's proposal to solicit up to three more sponsored TLDs; the monitoring and evaluation of recently released TLDs; and how to evolve the top level generic namespace. These items are slated for discussion at the December meeting. The new president and CEO, along with the board, will inherit responsibility for executing them.



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