Rod Beckstrom
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| Country: | USA |
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| Facebook: |  [RodBeckstrom Rod Beckstrom]
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| LinkedIn: |  [beckstrom Rod Beckstrom]
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| Twitter: |  @rodbeckstrom
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Rod Beckstrom is the President and CEO of ICANN and an Advisor at Uniloc.[1] He serves on the boards of the Environmental Defense Fund, named by Fortune Magazine as one of the seven most powerful boards in the world, and the Jamii Bora Trust, an African micro-lending group. [2]
Beckstrom is also a writer, and has co-authored four books, including the best-seller The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations, which provides a model for analyzing organizations, leadership styles, and competitive strategy. The Starfish and the Spider has been translated into 16 languages.[3]
On August 16, 2011, Rod announced via Twitter that he would be resigning from his position as President and CEO of ICANN in July 2012.[4] ICANN quickly confirmed the news with an official press release that highlighted his two year tenure with the organization.[5]
Career History
Beckstrom was appointed President and CEO of ICANN at the conclusion of ICANN's 35th international meeting in Sydney, Australia, in June 2009,[6] after resigning as Director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's National Cybersecurity Center (NCSC) in March.[7] He served as Director for the Cybersecurity Center for just one year, prior to which he served a one year stint as Chairman of TWIKI.NET.
From 2001 to 2007, he was the Chairman for Global Peace Networks and an Investor and Advisor for American Legal Net. From 2005 to 2006, he served as Chairman for Carbon Investments; from 1991 to 2001, as Chairman of Privada; and from 1985 to 1999, as CEO for CATS Software.[8]
Rod founded CATS Software in 1985 at the age of 24, originally working out of a garage apartment. The venture subsequently grew into global enterprise with offices in New York, London, Tokyo, Geneva, Sydney, Palo Alto, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong. It eventually went public and sold.[9]
Education
Rod received a BA in Economics with Honors and Distinction from Stanford University, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He also studied Finance and Banking as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of St. Galen in Switzerland.[10]