Shahram Soboutipour

Affiliation:	GNSO, GAC
Region:	Middle East
Country:	Iran
Email:	shahram@soboutipour.com
Website:	Profile.Center
Facebook:	Shahram Soboutipour
LinkedIn:	Shahram Soboutipour
Twitter:	@soboutipour

Shahram Soboutipour initiated the Persian Internet Governance Forum, the first regional IGF that was not based on a specific country but covered all Persian language and culture.

Soboutipour was formerly involved with ICANN through the GNSO, and is a regular ICANN attendee. As of ICANN 48 in Buenos Aires, he has attended more than six ICANN conferences.

He holds a Doctorate in Medicine and an MBA in Strategy.

Background

He has 18 years of experience in entrepreneurship, corporate build-up, leadership and management. Being active in the field of the Internet from 1998, he started his experience in one of the first ISPs in Iran during his late studentship in Medical School; when the Internet was a far cry from what it is today. In 2001, he founded his first company, Karmania Technology Inc., as the first web-based software development company in south-eastern Iran. Later, he continued as the co-founder of several technology-based companies, including IranMD, a health and medical service provider, based on the Internet and communication technology and using his Medical knowledge, which was one of the first service providers in this field at its time. Since 2003, he has focused on the Domain Name Industry as his main and only technical expertise, working on Persian IDNs (Patent Issued) and engaging in ICANN and Internet Governance activities, holding several advisory/observatory positions in different national and international ICANN and IG related groups, committees and initiatives, among them, the Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) of the UN-IGF Secretariat (2013-2016) and the PersianIGF (2013-2014). He also has the honor of leading and advising the application process of 8 new top-level domains (some of them very challenging and controversial) in ICANN’s New gTLD Program as a consultant and COO for Asia Green IT System including: .Pars, .PersianGulf, .Nowruz, .Islam, .Halal, .Shia. He also has been a member of PIR‘s Advisory Council, the .ORG Registry (2008-2012), and Member of BoD (2009-2012) and Director of Int’l Affairs (2010-2013) of the Iranian ICT Guild Organization (IIG), the nationwide professional ICT Association covering Iranian ICT Private Sector affairs. His entrepreneurial activities have recently resulted in a flashback to the combination of his Medical knowledge and IT experience, resulting in the innovative Self-Analysis and Career Compatibility Platform, the Profile.Center, offering a multilingual extensive report of Compatible Careers to students and job seekers.

Generic Names Supporting Organization. Develops and recommends to the Board substantive policies relating to generic top-level domains and other responsibilities set forth in the Bylaws (ICANN Bylaws).

Governmental Advisory Committee. Considers and provides advice on the activities of ICANN as they relate to concerns of governments, particularly matters where there may be an interaction between ICANN's policies and various laws and international agreements or where they may affect public policy issues (ICANN Bylaws).