Sedari
 | |
| Type: | Privately held |
| Industry: | Consulting and Technology |
| Founded: | 2011 |
| Founder(s): | Liz Williams |
| Headquarters: | Brussels |
| Country: | Belgium |
| Website: | www.sedari.com |
| Blog: | Sedari Blog |
| Facebook: | Sedari |
| LinkedIn: | Sedari |
| Twitter: |  @SedariNews
|
| Key People | |
| Dr. Liz Williams, CEO | |
Sedari is a domain consultancy firm offering expert advice to companies interested in operating their own top level domain name (TLD). The firm aims to help their clients outsource their day to day risk responsibility registry operations in compliance with ICANN's requirements. Dr. Liz Williams, former ICANN policy advisor, serves as CEO of the company.[1][2]
Sedari Team
The members of the Sedari Team are the following:[3]
- Dr. Liz Williams, Chief Executive Officer
- Fay Howard, Chief Operating Officer
- Jennie-Marie Larsen, Chief Marketing Officer
- Philip Sheppard, Director Policy, Governance and Public Affairs
- Wayne MacLaurin, Chief Technology Officer
- Ike Udechuku, Finance Consultant
- Dr. Kathryn Smith, Application Manager
- Elisabeth Bester, Project Manager
- Jo Tall, Legal Advisor
- Claire Elliot, Executive Team Support
- Jonas Bylund, Application Manager
Sedari Board of Directors include:[4]
- Dr. Dennis Jennings
- Jonathan Cohen
- Philipp Grabensee
Clients
The Foundation for Assistance for Internet Technologies and Infrastructure Development (FAITID) chose Sedari to assist the foundation to prepare and file its application to operate the .moscow and .москва TLDs.[5]
Partnership with Digital Archery Experts
The company partnered with Digital Archery Experts to ensure that its clients will be able to secure a spot in the first batch of evaluation. Digital Archery Experts, an affiliate of .CLUB Domains LLC, is offering the Batch One Bulleye digital archery service.[6]
Lawsuits
Kevin Wilson, former ICANN CFO, was recruited by Williams to join the company and assumed the same position he held at ICANN. Wilson accepted the position of CFO and also agreed to invest €100,000 in the company. After giving an initial investment of €50,000 to the company, however, his relationship with Williams became sour after he raised the concern that it was impossible for him to perform the duties of a CFO without being given full access to the company's bank information. In response, Williams promised that he would soon have full access to the company's bank accounts. In October 2011, Wilson refused to give the additional €50,000 to complete his investment to the company and was subsequently terminated as CFO. Following his termination, Wilson filed a Declaratory Relief and Fraud lawsuit against Sedari, seeking the return of his initial €50,000 investment to the compan. He claimed that the promise made by Williams that he would have full access to the company's financial records as CFO was false. He also claimed that representations regarding clients, revenue opportunities, bank account and expenses were not true.[7]
In a statement, Sedari claimed that Wilson broke his legally-binding obligations to the company, in particular the agreement that he would not act against the interest of the company. Because of his actions, the Board decided to forfeit his shares. Sedari dismissed the allegations and said that it would fight the case.[8]