ICANN President Announces Departure
The Internet's key oversight agency is saying goodbye to its president and CEO after six years at the helm. Paul Twomey broke the news to attendees at the opening of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' 34th international public meeting in Mexico City this week. Twomey, who was tapped for the top spot after serving four years as chairman of ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee, said he plans to leave at the end of the year and will "move on to another leadership position in the private or international sectors." Before joining ICANN, he founded Argo P@cific, a firm that helped companies build their Internet presence.
Upon learning of Twomey's decision to step down, some of the most significant leaders in the Internet community praised his work. "I can think of no other person who has had more influence on the course of ICANN's evolution than Paul," said Vint Cerf, Google's chief Internet evangelist, who served for eight years as ICANN chairman. "We owe him a great debt for long and faithful service and I owe him personal thanks for his counsel during my time on the board. The Board will be challenged to find a worthy and capable successor." Internet Society CEO Lynn St Amour added that ICANN has become a stronger organization during Twomey's tenure.
ICANN Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush said he was happy to have Twomey on board until the end of 2009 given the monumental tasks the body has ahead of it this year. In September, the Commerce Department's formal ICANN oversight role expires and the agency is moving forward with a controversial expansion of the way Web domains are assigned. Big brand owners fear that expanding these top-level domains will force them to spend big bucks to protect their identities from fraud and infringement.
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