[Chapter-delegates] ICANN News Release: ICANN's President and CEO Announces Departure

[Greg Wood]

Colleagues,

We wanted to be sure you are aware of the announcement made today by  
ICANN in conjunction with the 34th ICANN meeting being held in Mexico  
City. The Internet Society has broad and strong relations with the  
ICANN community and will continue work with them through this  
transition.

The text of the announcement is below, and available on the ICANN  
website at:
http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-02mar09-en.htm

Sincerely,
-Greg

--
Greg Wood
Internet Society
www.isoc.org

office: +1-703-439-2145
mobile: +1-703-625-3917



ICANN's President and CEO Announces Departure
2 March 2009

Mexico City, Mexico — 2 March 2009 — Founders and leaders of the  
Internet today praised the achievements of Dr Paul Twomey, the  
President and Chief Executive Officer of ICANN, after learning that  
Twomey had advised ICANN's Board of Directors that he will not seek  
renewal of his contract and will move on from ICANN at the end of 2009.

Twomey announced his decision at the opening session of ICANN's 34th  
International Public Meeting in Mexico City, which has drawn more than  
1,200 attendees from every corner of the globe.

"Last year, I told the Board that I did not want to renew my contract  
as President and CEO for another 3 year term," said Twomey. "While I  
am deeply and personally committed to ICANN and its success, I think  
this is the right time for me to move on to another leadership  
position in the private or international sectors."

Twomey was named CEO and President in 2003, after serving, for 4  
years, as the Chairman of ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee  
(GAC). He oversaw the phenomenal growth of an organization that has  
become the primary coordinator of the Internet's global address system.

"I'm delighted to have taken part in building ICANN's role in assuring  
a stable and secure Internet," said Twomey. "The Board has asked me to  
stay on after it appoints a successor to have a period of handover  
with the new appointee. During this transition period I shall be  
appointed to the new position of Senior President."

"Paul Twomey has made an extraordinary contribution to ICANN" said  
Peter Dengate Thrush, Chairman of the Board. "He was involved in its  
set up, helped establish the role of governments in his term as  
founding chair of the GAC, and then was its longest serving CEO. He  
guided the organization through the World Summit on the Information  
Society in 2005 and has been one of the strongest and most persuasive  
advocates for the multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance"

Upon learning of Twomey's decision to step down, some of the most  
significant leaders in the Internet community praised his work.

Vint Cerf, known as the Father of the Internet and 8 year Chairman of  
the ICANN Board said "I can think of no other person who has had more  
influence on the course of ICANN's evolution than Paul. 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."

Lynn St Amour, the CEO of the Internet Society (ISOC) commented  
"During his tenure, ICANN has become a stronger organization and, as a  
key element of the Internet ecosystem, has ensured the security and  
stability of the Domain Name System. The Internet Society extends its  
appreciation to Dr. Twomey for his service and dedication to ICANN and  
its communities. We look forward to working with him on major issues  
over the remainder of this year" she said.

Egypt's Minister of Information and Communications, Tarek Kamel also  
thanked Twomey for his many contributions.

"We were happy in Egypt and the developing world to work together with  
an outstanding person like Paul Twomey in Internet Governance issues.  
He was always trying to bring some balance to the global Internet  
policy dialogue," said Kamel. "Egypt was also delighted to host  
successful ICANN meetings during his term. We thank him for his  
contributions and wish him further luck in his career."

Dengate Thrush said the board was delighted to be able to retain  
Twomey's unique skills until the end of the year. "This is a momentous  
year for ICANN, and it is good that we will be able to continue with  
business as usual. "

Twomey agreed his announcement will not be a distraction from ICANN's  
ongoing work and its international meeting being held this week in  
Mexico.

"I'm looking forward to this week's discussions on a range of issues  
that will affect current Internet users and the billions still to  
come" he said.

##

Paul Twomey's biographical information can be found at: http://www.icann.org/en/biog/twomey.htm

The complete schedule for ICANN's 34th International Public Meeting in  
Mexico City, as well as links to webcast sessions and our public  
participation website, can be found at: http://mex.icann.org.

About ICANN:

To reach another person on the Internet you have to type an address  
into your computer - a name or a number. That address has to be unique  
so computers know where to find each other. ICANN coordinates these  
unique identifiers across the world. Without that coordination we  
wouldn't have one global Internet. ICANN was formed in 1998. It is a  
not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with participants from all  
over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and  
interoperable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the  
Internet's unique identifiers. ICANN doesn't control content on the  
Internet. It cannot stop spam and it doesn't deal with access to the  
Internet. But through its coordination role of the Internet's naming  
system, it does have an important impact on the expansion and  
evolution of the Internet. For more information please visit: www.icann.org 
.

Contacts:

Brad White
Director of Media Affairs
Ph. +52 55 181 68619
E: brad.white at icann.org

Andrew Robertson, Edelman PR
Ph: +44 7921 588 770
E:   andrew.robertson at edelman.com