How was the Initial Board Appointed?
The management of domain names and addresses was once performed under U.S. Government contract by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), whose Director, Internet pioneer Jon Postel, passed away in October 1998. ICANN was originally proposed by Postel on behalf of a broad coalition of Internet stakeholders in response to the June 1997 request by the United States government (known as the "White Paper" 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, 1998, 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. Through an ad-hoc process, nine Initial Board members and one President were quickly appointed to fill this leadership void.

Relevant Background Materials:

Proposal for the Formation of ICANN Submitted to the Department of Commerce on October 2, 1998.
Management of Internet Domain Names and Addresses
ICANN press release announcing appointment of Initial Board of Directors on October 26, 1998.

Biographies of Initial Board Members

Esther Dyson, Interim Chairman

Esther Dyson, Chairman of the ICANN Board, is currently chairman of EDventure Holdings, a small but diversified company focused on emerging information technology worldwide. She is a member of the President's Export Council Subcommittee on Encryption and sits on the boards of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Scala Business Solutions, Poland Online, Cygnus Solution, E-Pub Services, Trustworks (Amsterdam), IBS (Moscow), iCat, New World Publishing and the Global Business Network. She is on the advisory boards of Perot Systems and the Internet Capital Group, and a limited partner of the Mayfield Software Fund.

Ms. Dyson is also on the boards and executive committees of the Santa Fe Institute and the Institute for East-West Studies, and on the board of the Eurasia Foundation. She is a founding member of the Russian Software Market Association and a member of the (US) Software Publishers Association. She serves on the advisory boards of The Software Entrepreneurs Forum (Silicon Valley), the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, the Russian Internet Technology Center, and the Soros Medical Internet Project.

Previously, she was a securities analyst (New Court Securities, 1977-80; Oppenheimer & Co., 1980-82), and a reporter for Forbes magazine (1974-77).

Ms. Dyson holds a Bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard University (1972).

Michael Roberts, Interim President

Michael M. Roberts is President and CEO of ICANN and a policy consultant in the field of Internet technology, services and product development, with a specialization in research and education.  He recently retired as Vice President at EDUCOM, a consortium of 600 universities and colleges with interests in information technology, where  he was responsible for networking and telecommunications programs, including the development of public policy positions in information technology on behalf of EDUCOM members.  He was for a number of years staff director of the EDUCOM Networking and Telecommunications Task Force, a group of sixty universities and corporations with common networking interests.

He was an organizer and the first director of Internet2, a project of more than one hundred American universities to plan, integrate and deploy an advanced broadband network and applications for research and education.  He was also one of the founders and the first Executive Director of the Internet Society, whose purpose is to promote the use of the Internet and guide its further development as a foremost means of national and international communication.

Prior to joining EDUCOM, he was at Stanford University where he was Deputy Director of Information Technology Services, with executive responsibilities in Stanford's computing, communications, and information systems programs.  During 1983-86, he directed the university's telecommunications modernization project, which installed a large digital voice switch and extensive fiber optic network facilities.

Mr. Roberts is a liberal arts graduate of Stanford and holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Geraldine Capdeboscq

Geraldine Capdeboscq is Executive Vice President for Strategy, Technology and Partnerships, BULL (France). While at BULL, she was also Finance and MIS Director for the French Network (1988-91), Finance and Strategic Partnerships Director for the Research and Development Division (1991-94), and President of Smartcards, Terminals and Securization (1994-97). BULL is a member organization of SFIB, Syndicat de l'Industrie des Technologies de l'Information, which represents the French information technology industry. SFIB is a member of EUROBIT, the European federation of national information technology associations.

Mrs. Capdeboscq received her training at the Ecole Nationale d'Administration in France.

George Conrades is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Akamai Technologies, Inc. and also serves as a venture partner at Polaris Venture Partners, an early stage investment company.

He had been Executive Vice President and President, GTE Internetworking since the acquisition of BBN by GTE in 1997. He was also Chief Executive Officer of BBN (1994-98). At GTE, George was responsible for creating GTE Internetworking and leading GTE's rapid growth in the data and Internet Business, including integrated telecommunications services. From 1994 until GTE's acquisition of BBN, Conrades served as Chief Executive Officer of BBN, the highly regarded technology research and development firm, rapidly building the company into one of the industry's top tier ISPs. BBN helped build the ARPANET, the forerunner to today's modern Internet.

Previously, he was with IBM for thirty-one years, including IBM United States and IBM Asia/Pacific in Tokyo. At IBM, he was Senior Vice President and a member of IBM's Corporate Management Board.

He is former Chairman of the Board of Ohio Wesleyan University, a trustee of The Scripps Research Institute, a trustee of the Committee for Economic Development, and chair of the subcommittee report on the importance of basic research in America. Previously, he served as director for several companies in health care, bio-pharmaceuticals and high technology, and is a member of the board of CBS and Infinity Broadcasting.

Mr. Conrades holds a Bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics from Ohio Wesleyan University (1961) and a M.B.A. from the University of Chicago (1971).

Greg Crew is currently Chairman of the Australian Communications Industry Forum Ltd., Chairman of the Australian Information Technology Engineering Centre Ltd., and a non-executive director of ERG Ltd. (Perth) and of Silicon Wireless Ltd. (California). He was Chief Executive Officer of Mercury Communications Ltd. (UK) (1993-95) and Chief Operating Officer of Hongkong Telecommunications Ltd. (1991-93). He was also Managing Director of Hongkong Telephone Co. Ltd. (1988-91). Previously, he occupied various positions in engineering and commercial management in Hong Kong, and in Australia with Telecom Australia.

He is a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Mr. Crew holds a Bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Tasmania (1959), a Master's degree in administration from Monash University (1979), and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the Open University of Hong Kong for services to telecommunications and education in Hong Kong.

Frank Fitzsimmons is Senior Vice President, Global Marketing for Dun & Bradstreet, where he is responsible for the implementation of new global marketing initiatives in the areas of access systems, software and consulting partner marketing, Internet applications, electronic markets, and value-added products. Previously, he was Senior Vice President, Global Electronic Commerce Marketing responsible for creating a global strategy for partnership marketing, D&B's web strategy, as well as defining D&B's role in electronic commerce. Mr. Fitzsimmons was Vice President, Applications Marketing (1994-96), where he was responsible for the development of new products and new markets for D&B-U.S. In this role, he managed "start-up" type teams to develop strategies, products and distribution capabilities.

He was also Vice President, Finance for the Business Marketing Services Division and Vice President, Strategic Planning for D&B Information Services, North America. Previously, he held positions in Finance and Planning for Amerada Hess and the international divisions of W.R. Grace & Co.

Mr. Fitzsimmons hold a Bachelor's degree in accounting from Ithaca College and a M.B.A. degree in finance from Columbia University.

Hans Kraaijenbrink is a member of the Executive Board of ETNO, the European Telecommunications Network Operators association, located in Brussels. He is also Manager, European Policy and Regulation with Royal KPN N.V., the Netherlands where he is responsible for European and international regulatory strategic affairs.

Previously, he worked for the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, responsible for information technology and the services sectors, and for the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. He was also a member of the management team of the Telecommunications and Posts Directorate in the initial phase of the Dutch Telecommunications Regulator.

Mr. Kraaijenbrink graduated from Delft University (1966).

Jun Murai is currently Professor, Faculty of Environmental Information, Keio University (Japan); Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Advanced Studies, United Nations University; Instructor at Tokyo University of Art and Music; President of the Japan Network Information Center (JPNIC); General Chairperson of the WIDE Project (a Japanese Internet research consortium); Vice Chairperson of the Japanese chapter of the Internet Society; and Vice President of the Japanese Internet Association. He is a member of the board of the Internet Society.

Previously, he developed the Keio Science and Technology Network, and the Japan University UNIX Network (JUNET). His research has centered on electronic observation, satellite Internet, multimedia Internet, and mobile and ubiquitous computing.

Mr. Murai graduated from Keio University (1979), holds a Master's degree in computer science from Keio University (1981), and a Doctorate in computer science from Keio University (1987).

Eugenio Triana is an International Management Consultant on telecom policy, space and satellite systems, copyright and intellectual property rights in Madrid, Spain. He recently left the European Commission, where he was Deputy Director General in DG XIII (1994-98), responsible for the Commission's relations with the Information and Communications Technology user interests (ICT Partnership), and for coordinating the Directorate General's policy for space and satellite development. He has also been closely involved with intellectual property and Internet related policies. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and was President of the Licensing Executive Society (LES-Spain) from 1983-90.

Mr. Triana was Secretary General of Industrial Promotion and Technology in the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Energy (1990-94), with particular responsibilities for inward investment, innovation, small and medium-sized enterprises, and research and development. He also represented the Spanish Government in several national and international enterprises and organizations, including the European Space Agency.

Previously, he held several positions in Spanish industry. He also taught physics, engineering, and technology management in several academic institutions (1965-83). He has been a board member of diverse public corporations on telecommunications and energy.

Mr. Triana holds a Doctorate in industrial engineering (1963) and a Master's degree in business administration (1964) from Madrid University.

Linda S. Wilson is president emerita of Radcliffe College, presently on sabbatical leave after serving as president for a decade. Previously, she was was vice president for research at the University of Michigan, and served in the senior administrations of the University of Illinois and Washington University, St. Louis.

She is a Trustee of the Committee on Economic Development, a member of the Board of Directors for Citizens Financial Group, Inc., Inacom, Inc., and Value Line, Inc. A charter member of the National Academy of Sciences' Government-University- Industry Research Roundtable, she served on its Task Force on the Academic Research Enterprise. She chaired the National Research Council's Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel for six years. She also served on the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology and Government Task Force on Science, Technology and the States. Ms. Wilson served on the National Commission on Research and was chair of its subcommittee on accountability. She was a member of the Director's Advisory Council of the National Science Foundation for nine years. She served on the Council of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, on the IOM Committee on Government-Industry Research Collaboration in Biomedical Research and Education, and on the IOM Committee on the National Institutes of Health Research Priority-Setting Process. She is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Ms. Wilson received a Bachelor's degree from Sophie Newcomb College, Tulane University, and a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from the University of Wisconsin. She received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Newcomb College, Tulane University, and an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Maryland.