ICANN Nominating Committee Delegates

Tom Barrett has been involved with DNS projects since 1995 and participated in the green paper discussions that led to the birth of ICANN in 1998.

Currently, Tom is the founder and President of the ICANN-accredited registrars EnCirca Inc. (c. 2001) and Name Share Inc. (c. 2003). Tom is also the founder of PW Registry Corp. (c. 2003) for the .pw country code top-level domain. Tom is also the founder of Altroots (c. 2022), which provides blockchain and digital identity services.

Tom also serves on the board of the DotAsia Registry and is the current Chair of the Web3 Working Group of the International Trademark Association.

He was previously the CEO of corporate registrar NetNames, which he sold to NetBenefit, and Vice President at Thomson CompuMark (now part of Clarivate), where he led the development of the SAEGIS trademark research platform and Name Stake corporate registrar. He also previously engaged in business process reengineering at Accenture and factory automation at General Electric Aircraft Engines and Pratt & Whitney Aircraft.

Tom has engineering degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute and lives in Rockport, Massachusetts, with spouse Colleen. He is a member of the town's Finance Committee, helping to oversee the town's USD 35 million annual budget.

James Gannon is a longtime member of the ICANN community, recognized for his contributions to Internet governance, technical coordination, and security policy. He served on the Public Technical Identifiers (PTI) Board from 2020 to 2023, and served as its Chair from 2022 to 2023. He also chaired the PTI Audit Committee during his tenure, providing oversight of IANA's operational and fiduciary functions.

Within ICANN's policy structures, James has played multiple key roles across the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) and accountability mechanisms. He served as a GNSO Council member representing the Non-Contracted Parties House from 2020 to 2022, and as the GNSO Liaison to the Customer Standing Committee (CSC) from 2016 to 2020, where he helped ensure continued excellence in the performance of the IANA naming functions. James also acted as the CSC Liaison to the IANA Naming Function Review Team between 2019 and 2020, contributing to the first formal review of IANA naming service performance.

Earlier in the accountability reform era, James was actively involved in the IANA stewardship transition process (2014–2016), serving as a design-team lead within both the Cross-Community Working Group on Naming and the Cross-Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability. His work helped shape the post-transition governance and operational frameworks that underpin ICANN's multistakeholder model today.

He was also a member of the Second Security, Stability, and Resiliency of the DNS Review Team, contributing to community recommendations that strengthen ICANN's security posture and DNS ecosystem resilience.

A frequent contributor to ICANN and Internet Engineering Task Force discussions on DNS security and trust, James combines policy and technical expertise, bridging communities across standards, governance, and operational layers of the Internet.

Amir Qayyum is a professor and the Dean of External Linkages and International Collaborations at the Capital University of Science and Technology in Islamabad, Pakistan. He received his doctorate in mobile wireless networks from the University of Paris-Sud, France.

Amir is the founding President and CEO of CoreNet Systems Ltd., as well as the founding Director of the Center of Research in Networks and Telecom. He is the project director of many national and international funded research and development projects in the domain of wired and wireless networks, as well as the local coordinator of many Erasmus Mundus and Erasmus Plus European projects. He is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Pak France Alumni Network. In recognition of his services for academic and research collaborations, he was awarded the medal of Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the Government of France.

Amir is also a philanthropist and actively involved in community service and social work. He is the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Rifah Trust (focused on education, health care, and community service), and serves on the Board of Ehsas Trust (for education) and Meethi Zindagi Foundation (for health care of diabetic patients).

Amir has been involved with ICANN since 2012, initially as an ICANN Fellow, then as an At-Large Structure coordinator in the Asian, Australasian, and Pacific Islands Regional At-Large Organization (APRALO). He served as a member of the ICANN Nominating Committee from 2015 to 2017, representing APRALO and the At-Large Advisory Committee. He is a member of the Root Server System Advisory Committee Caucus and has served as a member of the ICANN Nominating Committee from 2019 to 2022, as well as a member of the Fellowship Selection Committee from 2018 to 2022. He served as the Chair-Elect for the 2023 NomCom and subsequently served as the Chair for the 2024–2025 NomCom.

Amir has been involved with the Internet Engineering Task Force since 1997 and was the coauthor of an RFC on Mobile Ad Hoc Networks. He is one of the founding members of the Internet Society Islamabad Chapter and was the Chair of its Board of Directors (2014–2019). He was on the Board of Directors for the Pakistan Internet Exchange (2015–2023). He has been actively involved with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) since 2004, and has also served as the Chair of the IEEE Islamabad Section (2017–2020), the Chair of Professional Activities (2014–2016), and the IEEE Computer Society Islamabad Chapter (2009–2014), as well as the Secretary and Treasurer of the section (2011–2013).

Arinola Akinyemi is a successful entrepreneur and leader with over 29 years of experience in the tech industry. Her exceptional leadership, strategic vision, and innovative problem-solving skills have made a lasting impact.

As CEO of DigiSphere Limited and Omar Ventures Limited, and Founder and President of DigiSphere Centre for Digital Creativity, Arinola advocates for ICT-driven development and economic growth. She focuses on digital inclusion and empowerment in Africa, driven by excellence, teamwork, and innovation.

Arinola's leadership roles include Vice Chair (West Africa) of Africa ICT Alliance (AfICTA), Board Member and Subcommittee Chair of AfICTA (2015–2018), and National Treasurer of the Information Technology (Industry) Association of Nigeria (2007–2011). She is also a member representative of the Generic Names Supporting Organization's (GNSO) Business Constituency (BC) since 2015, where she has distinguished herself as a volunteer in various roles. She served as the Chair of the GNSO Standing Selection Committee for two terms (2021–2023), Chair of the Credentials Committee (2020–2021), GNSO-appointed Fellowship Program mentor (ICANN78, 79, and 80), as well as the GNSO Commercial and Business Users Constituency Small Business Seat delegate to the 2025 Nominating Committee (NomCom).

Also at ICANN, she served on the NomCom Review Implementation Working Group, as the BC alternate on the Transfer Policy Review Working Group, and as a member of the Universal Acceptance Steering Group (Communication Subcommittee).

Her expertise includes project management, outsourcing, network design, capacity development, resource management, renewable energy, data security, and IT policy advocacy. Arinola holds a Bachelor of Science with a major in electronics from Lagos State University, a diploma in Internet governance and regulations (cybersecurity) from the University of Mendoza, Argentina, and a Mini-M.B.A. from Tekedia Institute in Boston, Massachusetts.

With her experience and knowledge, Arinola inspires and empowers individuals and organizations. Her commitment to excellence has earned her recognition as a tech industry leader.

Information, communications, and technology (ICT) specialist Dr. Fiona Asonga has been the CEO of Technology Service Providers of Kenya (TESPOK) from 2009 to the present. She leads the private sector in stakeholder and partnership consultations. In 2023, she was recognised among the:

• 25 Most Influential CEOs impacting business in East Africa.
• Top 50 Women in Management in Africa.
• Top 50 Most Inspirational Women in Technology Africa Award at the Africa Tech Festival.

In 2024, she was recognised among the:

• Top 60 Most Transformative CEOs Impacting the Kenya Economy.
• Awarded a doctorate degree in Christian business and leadership from the Veridian Christian University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Some of the initiatives she has been involved in include:

• Operating Kenya's first Internet Exchange Point and industry computer security response team.
• 2011–2018, member of both the Number Council of the Number Resource Organization and Address Council of the Address Supporting Organization.
• 2014–2017, Public Interest Registry as the Advisory Council member of the .ngo domain name.
• 2018, consultant on the Collaborative Governance Project by the Internet Society delivered at the U.S. Technical Training Institute, Washington, D.C.
• 2021, Cenerva consultant to the Ethiopian Regulatory Authority on Internet governance systems and processes.
• 2022, fostering diversity and inclusion by leading the TESPOK team in hosting the TESPOK Autism Marathon in Nairobi.
• 2022 to present, Executive Council member – U.N. Internet Governance Forum Support Association.
• 2022 to present, Advisor to the Global President and CEO, Global Cybersecurity Alliance.

Fiona's passion for ICT for development and inclusion has helped to highlight ICT business opportunities. As an ICT industry thought leader at the national, regional, and global space, she sets the pace in offering impactful leadership by transforming the world with ICT. She is keen on ensuring digital diversity and inclusion.

Karen Day is a Certified Paralegal and intellectual property specialist with over 35 years of legal experience. Based in the Research Triangle of North Carolina, Karen spent the vast majority of her career at the world's largest privately owned software company, SAS Institute Inc. Karen held responsibility for both trademark and domain strategy for SAS and its many subsidiary companies. Having been appointed as Registry Operations Manager, she oversaw all matters related to the operation of three top-level domain registries – .sas, .jmp, and .analytics – which were awarded to SAS in the 2012 round of the New gTLD Program. Additionally, Karen provided legal support to SAS' global procurement organization inbound goods and services contracting team.

After an early retirement from SAS, Karen joined the Chicago- and Nashville-based law firm Elster & McGrady LLC in the summer of 2025 to manage the firm's new gTLD applicant program, under the direction of Paul McGrady, and assist other companies through the complexities of the ICANN application and contracting processes.

Karen has been extensively involved in the ICANN policymaking process beginning in 2015 when she served as a member of the Subsequent Procedures Leadership Team. Since 2017, she has served as an officer and board member of both the gTLD Registries Stakeholder Group (RySG) and the Brand Registry Group in various capacities. Her term as Treasurer of the RySG ended at the close of the ICANN84 Annual General Meeting (AGM). She is continuing to serve as a Special Advisor to the Board of the Brand Registry Group while also chairing the GNSO Standing Selection Committee through the end of 2025, and serving on the Subsequent Procedures Implementation Review Team.

Karen was elected to serve as the RySG delegate to the NomCom for a two-year term beginning at the 2025 AGM.

Hafiz Farooq is an active cybersecurity and Internet researcher and has been working as Senior Cybersecurity Architect at Aramco for the last 10 years. He has around 22 years of experience working in the data center, telecommunications, and security domains. He has also worked with Dell Inc., Juniper Networks, British Telecom, and other telecommunication companies in the areas of network and cybersecurity. He has been actively participating in the ICANN community since 2022.

He holds a master's degree in next generation networks (Aston University, United Kingdom) and a computer engineering degree (NUST, Pakistan), and he holds multiple routing and security certifications including JNCIE-SP (Service Provider), JNCIE-SEC, SANS Forensic Examiner and Exploit Researcher, CISSP, and CISM. He is currently an advisory board member for multiple Fortune 500 companies (mainly, Splunk and Elasticsearch). He is also a member of the Internet Society (ISOC) Islamabad Chapter and ISOC's Cybersecurity Special Interest Group and Forum of Incident Response Teams.

He has been a member of ICANN's Root Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC) Caucus and the Generic Names Supporting Organization's Business Constituency, representing Aramco, for more than three years. He is also a member of Universal Acceptance working groups and has coordinated ICANN events in Saudi Aramco. He was a fellow at ICANN75 (Kuala Lumpur), ICANN76 (Cancún), ICANN77 (Washington, D.C.), ICANN79 (San Juan), and ICANN81 (Istanbul). He contributed to the RSSAC's Research Management Platform (Zotero) for ICANN's RSSAC Caucus and also participated in the Subsequent Procedures Implementation Review Team for the New gTLD Program: Next Round. He has also contributed to RSSAC by assisting in building the Root Server System Incident Reporting System.

Hafiz presented an open-source DNSSEC Verification Platform (DNSCapture) at the DNSSEC Tech Day at ICANN79 and has conducted multiple technical sessions during different ICANN meetings. He currently supports the Aramco's gTLD (.aramco) and ensures the security and monitoring of Aramco's ASN (AS5080).

Jothan Frakes is serving as the NomCom representative for the Registrars Stakeholder Group (RrSG). Jothan currently is owner and CEO of PLISK.COM, known for his enthusiasm for domain names and the domain industry, his work on the Public Suffix List, and for being a co-founder of NamesCon. Jothan is a member of the Security and Stability Advisory Committee, and served two terms as Vice Chair, Technical Operations of the Registrars Stakeholder Group in 2020 and 2022, where he also was Co-Chair of CPH TechOps. He has also served as the RrSG representative to the GNSO Standing Selection Committee. Jothan has held a variety of founder and senior executive roles with registries and registrars since first working with domains in 1991.

Bram Fudzulani is a member of the digital rights coalition in Malawi and currently serves on the Multistakeholder Advisory Group for the African Internet Governance Forum. He chairs the Malawi Internet Governance Forum and works closely with the Open Government Partnership Malawi under the Digital Governance Thematic Area. Bram was appointed by the U.N. Secretary-General to serve on the Multistakeholder Advisory Group for the global Internet Governance Forum for the period of 2021 to 2024.

He also served as the Vice Chair of the African Regional At-Large Organization. Bram served as President of the ICT Association of Malawi from 2018 to 2022. Through these roles, Bram continues to push for inclusive and forward-looking digital policies, both at home and across the region.