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'''Rod Beckstrom''' is a former President and CEO of [[ICANN]]. He served in this position from July 2009 until July 2012. 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,<ref>[http://twitter.com/#!/RodBeckstrom/status/103607748717060096 Twitter]</ref> at the end of his three year contract. ICANN confirmed the news with an official press release later that day, highlighting his past two years with the organization.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/news/releases/release-16aug11-en.pdf ICANN.org]</ref> He was replaced by [[Fadi Chehade]].
'''Rod Beckstrom''' is a former President and CEO of [[ICANN]]. He served in this position from July, 2009, until July, 2012. 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,<ref>[http://twitter.com/#!/RodBeckstrom/status/103607748717060096 Twitter]</ref> at the end of his three year contract. ICANN confirmed the news with an official press release later that day, highlighting his past two years with the organization.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/news/releases/release-16aug11-en.pdf ICANN.org]</ref> He was replaced by [[Fadi Chehade]].
Beckstrom currently serves as CEO of the Rod Beckstrom Group.<ref>[http://www.linkedin.com/in/beckstrom LinkedIn]</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/biog/beckstrom.htm ICANN.org Bio]</ref>
Beckstrom currently serves as CEO of the Rod Beckstrom Group.<ref>[http://www.linkedin.com/in/beckstrom LinkedIn]</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/biog/beckstrom.htm ICANN.org Bio]</ref>
===Criticism===
===Criticism===
Many ICANN participants have questioned his ownership over the aforementioned achievements and instead point to a list of dubious decisions and alarming statistics. Some of his more widely criticized moves include:
Many ICANN participants have questioned his ownership over the aforementioned achievements and instead point to a list of dubious decisions and alarming statistics. Some of his more widely criticized moves include:
* In May, 2010, Rod Beckstrom brought on [[Elad Levinson]] as a consultant, and later promoted him to VP of Organization Effectiveness. Mr. Levinson's background as a self-help, weight loss, and Buddhist-inspired psychologist and guru riled many ICANN watchers.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/icann-hires-weight-loss-guru-as-vice-president/ DomainIncite.com]</ref> Some interpreted it as Rod Beckstrom bringing on a personal teacher into a position of authority within the organization, and were especially irritated over the creation of new VP positions when other existing positions remained unfilled.<ref>[http://news.dot-nxt.com/2011/03/14/yes-to-crank-vps News.Dot-Nxt.com]</ref> Internal emails from the [[GNSO]] show disagreement over whether or not the hire was appropriate, and include a defense of Mr. Levinson's effectiveness.<ref>[http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/council/msg10941.html GNSO.ICANN.org]</ref>
* In May, 2010, Rod Beckstrom brought on [[Elad Levinson]] as a consultant, and later promoted him to VP of Organization Effectiveness. Mr. Levinson's background as a self-help, weight loss, and Buddhist-inspired psychologist and guru riled many ICANN watchers.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/icann-hires-weight-loss-guru-as-vice-president/ DomainIncite.com]</ref> Some interpreted it as Rod Beckstrom bringing on a personal teacher into a position of authority within the organization, and were especially irritated over the creation of new VP positions when other existing positions remained unfilled.<ref>[http://news.dot-nxt.com/2011/03/14/yes-to-crank-vps News.Dot-Nxt.com]</ref> Internal emails from the [[GNSO]] show disagreement over whether or not the hire was appropriate, and include a defense of Mr. Levinson's effectiveness.<ref>[http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/council/msg10941.html GNSO.ICANN.org]</ref> mr. Levinson was terminated following Mr. Beckstrom's departure, and was seen as part of a number of high-profile terminations and resignations associated with cleaning out Mr. Beckstrom's personnel and staffing choices.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/10343-another-controversial-vp-leaves-icann Another Controversial VP Leaves ICANN, DomainIncite.com]</ref>
* Rod Beckstrom has been accused of being paid too much.<ref>[http://nigel.je/2011/08/icann-to-part-company-with-ceo-rod-beckstrom/ Nigel.ie]</ref> He had released information regarding his salary, which stands at $750,000 USD per year plus bonuses, at risk compensation, and benefits.<ref>[http://www.domainnamenews.com/icann-policy/icann-publishes-salaries-top-level-employees/7162 DomainNameNews.com]</ref>
* Rod Beckstrom has been accused of being paid too much.<ref>[http://nigel.je/2011/08/icann-to-part-company-with-ceo-rod-beckstrom/ Nigel.ie]</ref> He had released information regarding his salary, which stands at $750,000 USD per year plus bonuses, at risk compensation, and benefits.<ref>[http://www.domainnamenews.com/icann-policy/icann-publishes-salaries-top-level-employees/7162 DomainNameNews.com]</ref>
* Rod Beckstrom was publicly derided by both [[Maria Farrell]] and [[Lesley Cowley]] at the public forum at [[ICANN San Francsico]].<ref>[http://nigel.je/2011/08/icann-to-part-company-with-ceo-rod-beckstrom/ Nigel.ie]</ref> Ms. Farrell first took the mic to accuse the organization of chasing away its experienced staff members, herself included, and lament the "hollowing out of expertise" therein. Her comments were met with sustained applause. Rod Beckstrom responded that turnover was below 15%, less than the average for a nonprofit or high-tech companies. [[Lesley Cowley]] later took the mic to point out that the turnover rate for senior staff members was likely significantly higher, around 78%.<ref>[http://mariafarrell.com/?p=141#more-141 MariaFarrel.com]</ref> Audio of that forum can be found [http://audio.icann.org/meetings/siliconvalley2011/public-forum-17mar11-en.mp3 here], with the aforementioned interaction beginning around 23:10. Rod Beckstrom further defended the turnover rate in his opening address at [[ICANN 41]], he noted that turnover for the previous year was at 11.62% and that it was tracking at 13%. When he was later asked about the loss of executives in an interview in September, 2011, he defended his management and team by saying, "The evolution of the management team was absolutely deliberate. Sometimes skills you get in a $100m organisation are different from those in a $5m organisation. I have assembled an excellent management team".<ref>[http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/emerging-tech/2011/09/24/beckstrom-i-came-to-change-icann-40094014/2/ I came to change ICANN, zdnet.co.uk]</ref>
* Rod Beckstrom was publicly derided by both [[Maria Farrell]] and [[Lesley Cowley]] at the public forum at [[ICANN San Francsico]].<ref>[http://nigel.je/2011/08/icann-to-part-company-with-ceo-rod-beckstrom/ Nigel.ie]</ref> Ms. Farrell first took the mic to accuse the organization of chasing away its experienced staff members, herself included, and lament the "hollowing out of expertise" therein. Her comments were met with sustained applause. Rod Beckstrom responded that turnover was below 15%, less than the average for a nonprofit or high-tech companies. [[Lesley Cowley]] later took the mic to point out that the turnover rate for senior staff members was likely significantly higher, around 78%.<ref>[http://mariafarrell.com/?p=141#more-141 MariaFarrel.com]</ref> Audio of that forum can be found [http://audio.icann.org/meetings/siliconvalley2011/public-forum-17mar11-en.mp3 here], with the aforementioned interaction beginning around 23:10. Rod Beckstrom further defended the turnover rate in his opening address at [[ICANN 41]], he noted that turnover for the previous year was at 11.62% and that it was tracking at 13%. When he was later asked about the loss of executives in an interview in September, 2011, he defended his management and team by saying, "The evolution of the management team was absolutely deliberate. Sometimes skills you get in a $100m organisation are different from those in a $5m organisation. I have assembled an excellent management team".<ref>[http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/emerging-tech/2011/09/24/beckstrom-i-came-to-change-icann-40094014/2/ I came to change ICANN, zdnet.co.uk]</ref>
On April 30, 2012, he stated that he is hoping that the [[TAS]] technical glitch will be resolved before his term as expires and hand over the job to his successor on June 29, 2009 at the [[ICANN 44]] meeting in Prague. He said, ''"I’d like to see us obviously get the technical issues resolved, notify applicants, reopen the window and publish the strings before I pass the baton in Prague. That’s not a commitment at this point in time, it’s an indication as CEO that it’s absolutely my intention to push for a timely resolution of this issue… If we can get things done sooner, then the sooner the better."'' <ref>
On April 30, 2012, he stated that he is hoping that the [[TAS]] technical glitch will be resolved before his term as expires and hand over the job to his successor on June 29, 2009 at the [[ICANN 44]] meeting in Prague. He said, ''"I’d like to see us obviously get the technical issues resolved, notify applicants, reopen the window and publish the strings before I pass the baton in Prague. That’s not a commitment at this point in time, it’s an indication as CEO that it’s absolutely my intention to push for a timely resolution of this issue… If we can get things done sooner, then the sooner the better."'' <ref>
[http://domainincite.com/beckstrom-breaks-tas-bug-silence-says-big-reveal-could-be-as-late-as-prague/ Beckstrom breaks TAS bug silence, says Big Reveal could be as late as Prague]</ref>
[http://domainincite.com/beckstrom-breaks-tas-bug-silence-says-big-reveal-could-be-as-late-as-prague/ Beckstrom breaks TAS bug silence, says Big Reveal could be as late as Prague]</ref>
===Criticism of the ICANN Board & NomCom===
At the opening ceremony for [[ICANN 43]] in San Jose, Costa Rica, Beckstrom criticized the [[ICANN Board]] and [[NomCom]] for their insularity. He said, "ICANN must be able to act for the public good while placing commercial and financial interests in the appropriate context. How can it do this if all top leadership is from the very domain name industry it is supposed to coordinate independently?” He claimed that the NomCom's structure poses a significant threat to ICANN, and stated that the Committee, which appoints half of the Board's voting Directors, should be "free of conflicts," and should appoint candidates that are “financially independent of the domain name industry." He said that ideally, a fully independent and non-conflicted NomCom should be in place before the nominations for the next round of Board appointments begins.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/8126-beckstrom-slams-his-own-board-over-conflicts Beckstrom slams his own board over conflicts, domainincite.com]</ref>
The industry response to his speech was mixed. While some chalked it up to the former CEO attempting to shift attention away from his own failures,<ref>[http://crookedtimber.org/2012/03/13/icanns-departing-ceo-burning-down-the-house/ ICANN’s Departing CEO: Burning Down the House, icann.org]</ref> others noted that some of his statements were based in truth. [[Kieren McCarthy]] pointed out in his response to the speech that some of the Board's seats have been occupied by the same person or rotating sets of people for almost a decade, and that a few had been appointed to the Board from other leadership positions within ICANN. Only five of the 21 Members of the Board, at the time of the speech, had come from outside of ICANN's internal groups, and all five of those delegates had been selected by the NomCom, who themselves were chosen from within ICANN. McCarthy also noted that outside voices are frequently ignored or overruled by the Board and the NomCom, including mandatory independent reviews.<ref>[http://news.dot-nxt.com/2012/03/14/beckstrom-right-for-wrong-reasons Why Beckstrom's got a point, even if it's for the wrong reasons, dot-nxt.com]</ref>
===Departure from ICANN===
===Departure from ICANN===
During his last opening ceremony address at [[ICANN 44]] in Prague, Mr. Beckstrom listed a number of achievements during his tenure as CEO, they included: introduction of [[IDN]]s, implementation of [[DNSSEC]], implementation of the [[New gTLD Program]], reaching out to China and Chinese stakeholders, an internationalizing the organization.
During his last opening ceremony address at [[ICANN 44]] in Prague, Mr. Beckstrom listed a number of achievements during his tenure as CEO, they included: introduction of [[IDN]]s, implementation of [[DNSSEC]], implementation of the [[New gTLD Program]], reaching out to China and Chinese stakeholders, an internationalizing the organization.
Beckstrom began his speech by taking full credit for the development of the [[Affirmation of Commitments]], which replaced the [[Joint Project Agreement]] as the document that outlines ICANN's legitimacy with the US government. He stated that, "My first day on the job, I was given a blank sheet of paper and I was told that the Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Commerce of the US government was not going to be renewed by ICANN. And I was told, 'You better come up with something better and you have to get it done in 90 days because the MoU is going to expire.' Together we worked and we created the Affirmation of Commitments."<ref>[http://domainincite.com/9615-former-icann-vp-calls-bull-on-beckstroms-exit-speech Former ICANN VP calls bull on Beckstrom’s exit speech, domainincite.com]</ref>
Former Executive Officer and Vice President Corporate Affairs [[Paul Levins]] stated, in a post on [[CircleID]], that Beckstrom's description of the event was false, and that the AoC was a result of ten years of community effort, with the first draft having been formulated over eight months before Beckstrom took office in July 2009.<ref>[http://www.circleid.com/posts/20120625_a_history_of_holding_icann_to_account/ A History of Holding ICANN to Account, circleid.com]</ref>
==Career History==
==Career History==
==References==
==References==
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[[Category:USA]]
[[Category:USA]]
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[[Category:Former ICANN Board]]
{{ICANN CEO
|Tenure Start=01.072009
|Tenure End=01.07.2012
}}