IP: ICANN Elects Board and Appoints Interim President

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

Contacts:      Esther Dyson, Interim Chairman
          212/924-8800; edyson () edventure com

          Michael M. Roberts, Interim President and CEO
           650/854-2108; mmr () darwin ptvy ca us



ICANN Elects Board and Appoints Interim President


NEW YORK, Oct. 26, 1998 -- The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers ("ICANN") today announced that it had elected its Initial Board and
chosen Michael M. Roberts as its Interim President and Chief Executive
Officer at a meeting yesterday.

     In addition, the Board chose Esther Dyson as its Interim Chairman, and
appointed an Executive Committee consisting of Dyson, Gregory L, Crew of
Australia, Hans Kraaijenbrink of The Netherlands and Roberts.  The other
Initial Board members include Geraldine Capdeboscq (France), George H.
Conrades (United States), Gregory L. Crew (Australia), Frank Fitzsimmons
(United States), Hans Kraaijenbrink (The Netherlands), Jun Murai (Japan),
Eugenio Triana (Spain), and Linda S. Wilson (United States).  [Editors
note:  bios appear at the end of this release.]


     ICANN is a private, non-profit corporation, managed by an
international board, formed to coordinate and administer policies and
technical protocols relating to the domain name and address system that
permits Internet communications to be routed to the correct person or
entity. Its proposed duties include those now performed under U.S.
Government contract by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, whose
Director, Internet pioneer Jon Postel, died earlier this month.

      ICANN was originally proposed by Postel on behalf of a broad
coalition of Internet stakeholders in response to the request by the United
States last June that the Internet community create a global consensus
non-profit corporation to which the United States could transition the
responsibility for overseeing and funding those coordination activities.
On October 16, Dr. Postel unexpectedly passed away.  With the loss of Dr.
Postel, who had served a central coordinating role in the creation of ICANN
and in the submission of the IANA proposal, many of the supporters of the
IANA proposal urged that the nascent ICANN organization be quickly
constituted and elect its Initial Board members so that ICANN, through its
Initial Board, could take on the management of the remainder of the
transition process.

     At its first meeting, which took place in New York, the Board also
adopted basic organizational resolutions.  The Board did not adopt bylaws,
deferring that until it had finished its consideration of the issues raised
in the Commerce letter and by various groups and individuals.

     With respect to the election of Roberts as Interim President, Board
members had been asked to suggest candidates for the position in advance of
the meeting, and several possible candidates were discussed.  Following
this discussion, Dyson said, Roberts was appointed because his background,
experience and availability were a good fit with ICANN's needs at the
moment.  Roberts has extensive experience with both networking and with
non-profit institutions, including service as the Vice President for
Networking of EDUCOM, an association of more than 600 member colleges and
universities.  In 1991, he was detailed from EDUCOM to serve as a Founding
Trustee and the first Executive Director of the Internet Society, where he
carried out for this international organization many of the same start-up
organizational functions that will be required for ICANN.  In 1996-97, he
was an organizer and first project director of the Internet2 project, a
university effort to design, integrate and deploy advanced networking
infrastructure and applications to support research, teaching and learning.
His work in that role included structuring and incorporating the University
Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID), another effort that
will be particularly helpful in the early organizational efforts for ICANN.

     Said Dyson:  "Mike's long background in the networking field, and
particularly his experience in starting up significant non-profit
organizations in this field, are particularly applicable to what ICANN will
need as it completes its initial organizational efforts.  His reputation
and credibility will be important assets for ICANN.  He knows most of the
relevant people and organizations  worldwide, but  he is known for being
nonpartisan."

     Roberts will begin work immediately.  "It is critical," said Roberts,
"that the functions that ICANN will be responsible for be carried out
without interruption, and that the transition from United States control of
some of these functions and related assets be accomplished efficiently and
quickly.  The tasks that require immediate attention include:

               --   ICANN's short and long term funding mechanisms must be
                    established;

               --   The Initial Board activities must be staffed and
                    supported; given the international character of that
                    Board, the logistics of this effort will be complex;

                    and,

               --   The Initial Board needs to quickly make itself
                    available to the entire Internet community, both
                    electronically and in person, so it can be certain to
                    hear and understand the concerns and needs of the
                    community that it is to serve."


     Like the Initial Board members, who will serve only until the complete
permanent ICANN structure and full Board are in place (planned for the fall
of 1999), Roberts is not a candidate to be the long-term President and
Chief Executive Officer of ICANN.  The Board will immediately begin the
process of searching for a long-term President and Chief Executive Officer.

       Interim Chairman Dyson said that the Board is working on a response
to the Commerce letter relating to ICANN policies and bylaws, and that it
plans to deliver it in an open letter within two weeks.  "in addition,"
she said, " we hope to begin to discuss the specific terms of a transition
agreement with the Commerce Department very soon.  We hope ICANN can get
these preliminary issues resolved quickly, and turn to the long list of
important tasks that face us, including the establishment of a final
membership structure, the procedures for the election of Board members by
that membership, and the recognition and certification of the specialized
Supporting Organizations for Addresses, Protocols, and Domain Names that
will be the working policy bodies of ICANN."