Veni Markovski

Country:	Bulgaria
Email:	veni[at]veni.com
Website:	[Veni.com Veni.com]
LinkedIn:	[venimarkovski Veni Markovski]

Veni Markovski is an pioneer for internet and information technology from Bulgaria. He is currently the the Regional Representative of ICANN at Russia, Eastern Europe, CIS. and the CEO/owner of Global Solutions and Consulting. He is also a Senior Advisor at Office of the National Cybersecurity Coordinator

Veni Markovski was born 1968 in Skopie, Macedonia. He started his work on the Internet from September 1990, as a system operator of the first Sofia-based bulletin-board system, part of FidoNet. By 1993 he had founded the second Internet Service Provider in the history of Bulgaria, which later became BOL.BG. In 1995, he founded the non-profit Internet Society of Bulgaria, of which he's currently chairman of the Board.

He has served on the Boards of ICANN, the Internet Society, CPSR, Sofia New Symphony Orchestra, and others. In 2003 he ran for mayor of Sofia. In 2006-2009 Veni Markovski supported the work of the Bulgarian State Agency for Information Technologies and Communications by advising its chairman on international ITC-related issues.

He has also been expert to several Bulgarian Parliaments, and is among the contributors to different laws, among them the Telecommunications Act, the Penal Code (computer crimes chapter), the Electronic Document and Digital Signature Law, the Copyright Law, and others.He is currenly chairing the Bulgarian President's IT Advisory Committee since 2002, and advised on International Projects the Chairman of the State Agency for IT and Communications to the Council of Ministers or Republic of Bulgaria (2005-2009).

Mr. Markovski has been member of the Bulgarian delegation to the U.N. World Summit on Information Society, and a member of the Advisory Group to the Internet Governance Forum. He was a member of the ICANN Board (2003-2006). He served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Internet Society (2002-2007), the Internet Society of New York (2007-2010), and on the Board of Directors of the Computers Professionals for Social Responsibility (2003-2005).

Veni Markovski was Project Manager of UNDP projects for support of e-government initiatives in South-eastern Europe. His efforts have been positively reviewed at The New York Times , The International Herald Tribune, heise.de and others. Veni Markovski has also served as project contact point for the Bulgarian ENUM trial (launched on April 13, 2006)

Veni Markovski is a graduate of the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ochridski” with Masters of Science degree in Law (1993), he has also passed training by the International Law Development Institute in Rome, the US Agency for International Development, and others.He has published in dozens of Bulgarian and foreign newspapers and magazines since 1984, and is a frequent presenter at IT- and cybersecurity-related conferences around the world.

Veni Markovski has extended knowledge of the Russian history and culture, as well as the cultures of the countries in the region he's responsible for within the ICANN's Global Partnership Program. He has also hundreds of publications in Bulgarian and foreign newspapers and magazines since 1984. He is also a frequent presenter at different IT- and cybersecurity-related conferences, among them CFP (San Francisco, CA, USA), MMAWG (Washington, DC, USA), WSIS (Geneva, Switzerland and Tunis, Tunisia), Wizards of OS (Berlin, Germany), iWeek (Joburg, South Africa), FBI/Fordham (New York), RANS (Moscow, Russia), Nato Forum on Security (Istanbul, Turkey), Cybersecurity forums (Sofia, Bulgaria; Belgrade, Serbia; Moscow, Russia; New York, USA), and many others.

Veni Markovski currently lives in Washington, DC, USA.

Career History

• From September 1990 to August 1993 Veni Markovski was the System Operator at MicroComm.

• He was the CEO/President of BOL.BG from December 1993 to April 2002.

• He was a Member of the Board of Directors of ICANN from 2003 to 2006.

• He served as a Member of Board of Trustees of Internet Society.

• He was a participant of TED during February 2009.

• From December 1995 he is serving as the President and Chairman of the Board Internet Society, Bulgaria.

• He has been acting as the Chairman Bulgarian President's IT Advisory Committee from March 2002.

• He is working as the Senior Advisor to the Chairman, Bulgarian Government - State Agency for IT and Communications from January 2006.

• November 2006 he joined Global Solutions and Consulting as the CEO/owner.

• He has been serving as the Regional Representative of [ICANN]] in Russia, Eastern Europe, CIS from January 2007.

• He joined the Office of the National Cybersecurity Coordinator as the Senior Advisor in April 2009 and has been serving as the Advisor of the Bulgarian National Cybersecurity Coordinator since.