RE: [council] Nomination for Board Seat 14

["Adrian Kinderis" <adrian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Excellent Chuck.

 

Does this require a second from the GNSO Council?

 

Adrian Kinderis
Managing Director

AusRegistry Group Pty Ltd
Level 8, 10 Queens Road
Melbourne. Victoria Australia. 3004
Ph: +61 3 9866 3710
Fax: +61 3 9866 1970
Email: adrian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:adrian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
Web: www.ausregistrygroup.com <http://www.ausregistryinternational.com/>


 

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From: owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Gomes, Chuck
Sent: Friday, 25 January 2008 6:11 AM
To: Council GNSO
Subject: [council] Nomination for Board Seat 14

 

Attached as an MS Word file and copied below is my nomination of Rita
Rodin for Board seat 14.

 

Chuck Gomes

 

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Nomination for ICANN Board Seat 14

 

1a. Full name of the nominee: Rita Rodin

1b. E-mail address of the nominee: RRODIN@xxxxxxxxxxx

1c. Country of citizenship of nominee:  USA

2a. Full name of the nominator: Chuck Gomes

2b. E-mail address of the nominator: cgomes@xxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Description of Qualifications

 

Bylaws, Article VI, Section 3, Criteria for Selection of Directors

 

Rita was selected as an ICANN Director in 2005 by the GNSO because she
was deemed to meet the requisite qualifications as detailed in the
Bylaws.  During her first term as a director, the original assessment of
her qualifications has been strongly reinforced by her performance as a
Board member.

 

Her primary responsibility as director is her fiduciary responsibilities
to the ICANN Corporation.  Throughout her first term, she has been a key
contributor in the Board's decision-making processes.  While I am sure
that Rita, just like all directors in such a diverse environment, has
made some decisions with which some may disagree, there is absolutely no
basis for questioning her integrity in any of those decisions.  She
grappled hard with some of the decisions but carefully weighed all the
facts and came to conclusions that she was convinced were the best for
ICANN and for the community.

 

Her openness has been demonstrated by her willingness to discuss issues
with anyone, including many cases where she sought out opposing views.
Her objectivity has been shown by the fact that she would raise
competing view points during deliberations and always tried to motivate
collaboration that would lead to win-win solutions.

 

Based on her previous experience, we knew from the start that she had an
excellent understanding of both ICANN's mission and the Internet
community that ICANN serves.  And that understanding has been used
repeatedly in support of sound decision-making by the Board. 

 

>From a GNSO perspective, Rita is one of just a handful of directors who
have first hand knowledge about several critical areas:

*       The operation of registries and registrars
*       Policy development procedures (e.g., she provided drafting
assistance for the UDRP and helped draft the first GNSO PDP; I won't
hold the latter against her!)
*       Intellectual property and privacy rights
*       International business issues
*       Contract law and contract negotiations.

At the same time, even though she has special expertise and interest in
the above areas, there is no evidence indicating that she favored
stakeholders in one area over another.  She sought input from all sides
and evaluated data from various and competing sources before making
decisions.

 

Whereas her role on the Board is not to represent the GNSO, she has done
the following that have been of great benefit to the GNSO:

*         Helped fellow directors in understanding gTLD issues and
processes

*         Participated in many GNSO Council meetings

*         Met regularly with leaders of the GNSO Council to listen and
to communicate.

 

Bylaws, Article VI, Section 4, Additional Qualifications

 

Note, as defined in this section that Rita is NOT:

*       An official or employee of a national government or a
multinational entity
*       Serving in any capacity (including as a liaison) on any
Supporting Organization Council
*       Serving in any capacity on the Nominating Committee.

 

Bylaws, Article VI, Section 5, International Representation

 

Regarding international representation:

*       As a citizen of the United States, Rita comes from a different
geographical region than Bruce Tonkin, the other GNSO elected director,
who comes from the Asia Pacific region.
*       In her private work as a partner in Skadden's Intellectual
Property and Technology and Internet and E-Commerce practices, Rita's
responsibilities include structuring and negotiating domestic and
international transactions with a focus on technology and trademarks;
she has handled matters for companies ranging from startups to global
institutions.

 

Conclusion

 

Regardless of a director's qualifications, he or she can only be
effective through consistent and active participation in Board and
community activities.  Rita has done this well, including remote
participation when limited by physical injuries caused by an accident.

 

Regarding Board activity, Rita is currently serving on the following
Board committees:

*       Audit Committee
*       Board Governance Committee (including the GNSO Improvements
working group)
*       Reconsideration Committee
*       Executive Committee.

 

There is a learning curve for new directors on any board.  Considering
Rita's outstanding performance and active role on the current Board, it
would be unfortunate to lose the advantages of continuity of her service
by not re-electing her to a second term.