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GNSO Council

Last Updated:
23 March 2023

The Structure of the GNSO Council

The 21 members of the Council govern policy development in the GNSO. Stakeholder Groups appoint 18 of its members. For voting purposes, the Council has two houses, like the US Congress or the British Parliament.

The Contracted Parties House (CPH) holds the Registries and Registrars Stakeholder Groups, while the Non-Contracted Parties House (NCPH) holds the Commercial and Non-Commercial Stakeholder Groups.

ICANN's Nominating Committee appoints three Council members, two of which are voting members assigned to each House. The third appointee is an advisor to the Council as a whole.

The Council also includes formally appointed but non-voting Liaisons and Observers from other groups within ICANN. This elaborate system provides checks and balances so no single interest group can dominate the Council.

Group photo of the GNSO Council
GNSO Structure

GNSO Council Leadership

Greg DiBiase Vice-Chair, CPH – NA (AGM 2023)

Sebastien Ducos Chair – EU (AGM 2023) ***

John McElwaine Vice-Chair, NCPH – NA (AGM 2023)

Contracted Party House {6+1}

Non-Contracted Party House {12+1}

Registries
Stakeholder
Group {3}

  • Registries

Kurt Pritz NA
End of term 2: AGM 2024
Years on Council: 3

Sebastien Ducos EU
End of term 2: AGM 2023
Years on Council: 4

Nacho Amadoz EU
End of term 1: AGM 2024
Years on Council: 1

Registrars
Stakeholder
Group {3}

  • Registrars

Antonia Chu AAPAC
End of term 1: AGM 2023
Years on Council: 2

Greg DiBiase NA
End of term 1: AGM 2023
Years on Council: 41

Theo Geurts EU
End of term 1: AGM 2024
Years on Council: 1

Commercial
Stakeholder
Group {6}

  • Business
  • Intellectual Property
  • Internet Service Providers

Commercial and Business Users

Marie Pattullo EU
End of term 2: AGM 2023
Years on Council: 52

Mark Datysgeld LAC
End of term 2: AGM 2024
Years on Council: 3

Intellectual Property Interests

John McElwaine NA
End of term 2: AGM 2023
Years on Council: 4

Susan Payne EU
End of term 1: AGM 2024
Years on Council: 1

Internet Service and Connection Providers

Osvaldo Novoa LAC
End of term 1: AGM 2024
Years on Council: 1

Thomas Rickert EU
End of term 1: AGM 2023
Years on Council; 2

Non-Commercial
Stakeholder
Group {6}

  • Non-Commercial Users
  • Not-for-Profit Operational Concerns Constituency

Wisdom Donkor AF
End of term 2: AGM 2024
Years on Council: 2

Stephanie Perrin NA
End of Term 2: AGM 2024
Years on Council: 3

Manju Chen AP
End of term 1: AGM 2023
Years on Council: 2

Bruna Martins dos Santos LAC
End of term 1 AGM 2024
Years on Council: 1

Farell Folly AF
End of term 2: AGM 2023
Years on Council: 4

Tomslin Samme-Nlar AP
End of term replacement: AGM 2023
Years on Council: 33

GNSO Council NomCom Appointees

Desiree Miloshevic NCA CPH- EU (AGM 2023)

Anne Aikman Scalese NCA, non-voting – NA (AGM 2024)*

Paul McGrady NCA NCPH – NA (AGM 2023)

 

GNSO Council Liaisons/Observers

Maarten Simon ccNSO liaison – EU **

Jeffrey Neuman GNSO Liaison to the GAC – NA**

Justine Chew ALAC Liaison – AAPAC **

1 Completed Darcy Southwell's term, started own term AGM 2021

2 Completed Philip Corwin's term, started own term AGM 2019

3 Completed a one-year term 2020 – 2021, started two-year term AGM 2021

Legend

{} Voting

[] Non-Voting

* Non-Voting Liaison – Counted as a Member

** Observer – Not Counted as a Member

*** The GNSO Council Chair is elected for a one year term

AGM = Annual General Meeting

Regions

  • AF = Africa
  • NA = North America
  • EU = Europe
  • LAC = Latin America/Caribbean
  • AAPAC = Asia/Australia/Pacific