Hi all, I just blogged about what the Board might consider, and also raised the suggestion that a search committee include more of the community: http://crookedtimber.org/2011/08/17/21300/ Avri's spot-on thoughts about the role of volunteers are included as well. Cheers, m 2011/8/17 Poomjit Sirawongprasert <[log in to unmask]> > How about his? > > ICANN fires its CEO > http://news.dot-nxt.com/2011/08/16/icann-fires-ceo > > ICANN fires its CEO by Kieren McCarthy | 16 Aug 2011 | > > The CEO of ICANN Rod Beckstrom has announced he is leaving the organization > at the end of his contract. > > According to a tweet<http://twitter.com/#%21/RodBeckstrom/status/103607748717060096>sent out by Beckstrom at 4.20pm PST: "I have decided to wrap up my service > at ICANN July 2012", adding "Press release soon." > > The press release<http://news.dot-nxt.com/sites/news.dot-nxt.com/files/release-16aug11-en.pdf>[pdf] followed 20 minutes later and comprised largely of Beckstrom listing > his achievements in the first and third person. "I can summarize my time > here in four words: strong execution, great team-building," he was quoted as > saying. > > Board chair Steve Crocker, who took over the post only two months ago, > noted that: "The Board of Directors fully supports Rod through the > completion of his July 2012 term." > > Behind the pronouncements lies a different storyBehind the pronouncements > lies a different story. It is well known in ICANN circles that there has > been significant concern over Beckstrom's performance for some time. And we > understand that Beckstrom's "decision" was made for him at a secret Board > meeting earlier this month. > > Unlike the three other CEOs that have presided over ICANN in its 11-year > history, Beckstrom lobbied hard to have his contract renewed, even giving a > public speech at ICANN's most recent meeting in Singapore in June listing > what he had achieved as CEO. Accompanying today's press release, somewhat > bizarrely, is a separate PDF<http://news.dot-nxt.com/sites/news.dot-nxt.com/files/factsheet-beckstrom-accomplishments-16aug11-en.pdf>listing Beckstrom's "notable accomplishments". > > *Credit score* > > Ironically, it is Beckstrom's attempt to personally attach himself to all > the organization's successes that is a major reason for his failure as an > ICANN CEO: he is seen as too quick to claim credit for others' work and to > put personal promotion ahead of effective management. In two years in > charge, almost the entire senior management team has left. Community > questions as to why were met with obtuse reference to industry percentages. > > Having written a book lauding the power of leaderless structures over > traditional hierarchy - the first likened to a starfish, the second to a > spider - many were surprised when Beckstrom created an even stronger > hierarchy within ICANN, with him as the head. And the bottleneck. > > Beckstrom's claim to have encouraged "great team-building" were famously > called into question at the organization's meeting in San FranciscoBeckstrom's > claim to have encouraged "great team-building" were famously called into > question at the organization's meeting in San Francisco in March this year > when former staff member Maria Farrell took the microphone during a public > forum to announce her "profound disquiet about how the organization is > operationally being managed" and talked of a "hollowing out of expertise" > and a "climate of fear stalking the ICANN staff". Her comments were met with > prolonged applause. > > *Parachute* > > Likewise, Beckstrom's most significant claim to have negotiated an historic > agreement with the US government that saw ICANN gain greater autonomy is > largely fanciful: he was in charge for less than three months before the > agreement was signed, whereas negotiations had been going on for 18 months > between ICANN senior staff and the NTIA, most notably Fiona Alexander. > Discussions at the time were opposed by both sides but nevertheless started > when ICANN expressed its desire to break free of the US government during a > mid-term review of the "Joint Project Agreement". > > Beckstrom was parachuted into the agreement and immediately raised eyebrows > when he sought full credit for itBeckstrom was parachuted into the > agreement and immediately raised eyebrows when he sought full credit for it. > It is telling that the man who was really responsible for the new agreement > - VP of Corporate Affairs Paul Levins - left within months of Beckstrom's > appointment. > > Likewise the two other main achievements by ICANN - the introduction of > internationalized domain names and the approval of the Applicant Guidebook > for hundreds of new Internet extensions - were the result of many prior > years of work by ICANN staff and the broader Internet community. > > The attempt to claim credit for both by Beckstrom did not sit well in a > culture that goes out of its way to acknowledge the work done by others in > reaching an end goal in Internet policy. > > *Loss of staff* > > Similarly, advances in ICANN's ability to effectively manage work were > largely due to ICANN's COO Doug Brent who quit unexpectedly in April 2010. > Others disappeared largely unnoticed. The head of ICANN's global > partnerships team, and the key member of ICANN's staff that followed global > political developments, Theresa Swinehart also left in 2010; later followed > by former British Ambassador Nick Thorne who was key in negotiating several > key international agreements on IDNs. > > The man widely acknowledged as saving ICANN's reputation over its > management of the crucial IANA contract, David Conrad, and its Chief > Security Advisor Greg Rattray also slid away. They were joined later by > ICANN's CFO. > > something that earned Beckstrom a rare public rebuke from the Internet > SocietyCombined with a series of gaffes, that included: publicly telling > government representatives that the domain name system was under constant > attack and wasn't sufficiently stable (something that earned Beckstrom a > rare public rebuke from the Internet Society and the country code Names > Supporting Organization (ccNSO)); having a public row with a representative > of the ITU on stage at the Internet Governance Forum; and flying to an > opening ceremony instead of staying at a critical meeting over the creation > of new top-level domains; led many to feel Beckstrom had become a liability. > > > That feeling was further strengthened by Beckstrom's poor handling of an > independent review into ICANN's accountability and transparency that left > the US government fuming and prompted an ongoing review of the IANA contract > that is crucial to ICANN's future. > > *Cyber-insecurity* > > It didn't help that Beckstrom was already thought of by many in the US > government as a crank due to his very public resignation as the Department > of Homeland Security's cyber-security chief which was accompanied by the > publication of a caustic resignation letter highlighting inter-departmental > tensions. Sadly, the letter only served to deepen those rifts, with the > National Cybersecurity Center having had three directors in three years and > US-CERT five directors in seven years. > > Despite his failures however, Beckstrom retains the support and affection > of many in the ICANN community for bringing some life to its proceedings. > > He turned around the tedious opening ceremonies at ICANN meetings with live > music and cultural art shows before the Board forced him to scale it back > over successive meetings. Most recent opening ceremonies have again slipped > into a tedium of uninspiring speeches. > > That effort to bring in some creativity has however been immortalized in an > evening "Music Night" at each meetingThat effort to bring in some > creativity has however been immortalized in an evening "Music Night" at each > meeting that sees attendees take the stage alongside a professional band. > It provides much needed respite amid what are frequently long and difficult > negotiations. > > Beckstrom was also far more open and less mired in clandestine politics > than his predecessor, for a while running small group meetings with > community members in order to ask their views. He also tried to make the > organization more open by talking honestly and publicly about events - > something that saw him bitten on several occasions. He was also liked for > trying to step above the day-to-day politics by reminding people of the > bigger picture. > > *Thin-skinned* > > As criticism grew, Beckstrom retreated within ICANN pulling the culture and > staff with himUltimately though Beckstrom was unsuited - and too > thin-skinned - to deal with the complex, geo-political environment in which > ICANN lives. As criticism grew, Beckstrom retreated within ICANN pulling > the culture and staff with him. An independent review complained of staff > and CEO "laboring under an attitude of inordinate defensiveness and > distrust". > > Beckstrom still has a little under a year to serve out his contract. In > typical over-the-top style he declared: "I remain committed to leading this > critical organization with the utmost dedication." > > The reality is however that the search for a new CEO has begun and ICANN > has simply given itself 11 months to find a replacement in order to avoid > the rushed process that led to Beckstrom being appointed in the first place. > > > > ภูมิจิต ศิระวงศ์ประเสริฐ (หมวย) > Poomjit Sirawongprasert (Moui) > Contact Me [image: Twitter] <http://www.twitter.com/moui> [image: > Facebook] <http://www.facebook.com/PoomjitS> [image: LinkedIn]<http://www.linkedin.com/in/poomjit> [image: > Ning] <http://ncdnhc.org/page/membership-roster> [image: WordPress]<http://moui.net> > On Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 12:30 AM, Dan Krimm <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> To that end, is there anything we can do to influence the selection >> process? >> >> What are the chances that we could in fact get someone that fits the bill >> you describe, and how would we go about maximizing those chances? >> >> Dan >> >> >> >> On Wed, August 17, 2011 3:06 am, William Drake wrote: >> > So some rumors are not in fact baseless.... >> > >> > Many things one could say, snarky and otherwise, but I'll leave it at >> > this: I hope they find a replacement who understands it's supposed to be >> a >> > global organization that acts in public interest.... >> > >> > BD >> > >> > >> > >> > Begin forwarded message: >> > >> >> From: "Bruce Tonkin" <[log in to unmask]> >> >> Date: August 17, 2011 3:17:08 AM GMT+02:00 >> >> To: "GNSO Council List" <[log in to unmask]> >> >> Subject: [council] Rod Beckstrom to leave ICANN at the end of his term >> >> >> >> >> >> Hello All, >> >> >> >> From: http://www.icann.org/en/news/releases/release-16aug11-en.pdf >> >> >> >> August 16, 2011 >> >> >> >> BECKSTROM TO LEAVE ICANN AT END OF HIS TERM >> >> >> >> Rod Beckstrom will continue to fulfill his term as ICANN's President >> and >> >> CEO, which will be completed on 1 July 2012. He has held this position >> >> since 1 July 2009. >> >> >> >> "I am incredibly proud of ICANN's achievements throughout my tenure," >> >> said Beckstrom. "In two short years we have advanced this organization >> >> to a new level of professionalism and productivity, and turned it into >> a >> >> genuinely multinational organization that will serve the world >> community >> >> long after my time here." >> >> >> >> Beckstrom has had many notable accomplishments at ICANN. They include >> >> the negotiation and signing of the Affirmation of Commitments, the >> >> historic 2009 agreement with the US Government that moved ICANN's >> >> oversight from one government to the world, and the signing of the >> >> Internet's root with DNSSEC. The introduction of internationalized >> >> domain names under his watch has allowed millions of Internet users to >> >> access the Internet entirely in their primary language script. >> >> >> >> "I can summarize my time here in four words: strong execution, great >> >> teambuilding," he said. "We have built a world-class executive team, >> and >> >> elevated ICANN's stature through strategic relationships with >> >> governments, businesses, top technology firms and international >> >> organizations." >> >> >> >> A program to launch new generic top-level domains - a major change to >> >> the domain name system - was approved in June and will launch in the >> >> next year. ICANN's agreement with the US government - the IANA >> functions >> >> contract - expires in March, and Beckstrom emphasized his commitment to >> >> bring the contract renewal to a successful conclusion. >> >> >> >> Steve Crocker, Chair of ICANN's Board of Directors, said: "The Board of >> >> Directors fully supports Rod through the completion of his July 2012 >> >> term and is committed to continuing the collaboration that has produced >> >> so many benefits for ICANN and for the global Internet." >> >> >> >> Beckstrom continued: "I remain committed to leading this critical >> >> organization with the utmost dedication, and to living up to our common >> >> vision: One world, one Internet." >> >> >> > >> > >> > >