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Chair’s Blog: A Preview of the ICANN Board’s April to May Workshop

29 April 2021
By
Maarten Botterman

Maarten Botterman

ICANN Board Member

Maarten Botterman is an independent strategic adviser on Internet governance and related issues with more than 25 years' experience in guiding governments and major organizations on the economic, business, and societal impacts of current and future Internet innovations and technologies. During those 25-plus years, he participated in and led more than 50 international projects and studies and published more than 80 peer-reviewed reports for governments and industry on Future Net issues with teams, including experts with advanced academic degrees from many disciplines, ranging from technology and mathematics to economics and law, and from many different countries and cultures.

Maarten was employed as Head of Unit and Senior Adviser to the Dutch Government (1987–1995) and as Scientific Officer to the Communications Technology Research program that was run by the European Commission (1995–1999). These years brought many insights about the public interest and governance aspects of the developing global, networked knowledge society. These insights were further deepened when working for RAND Corporation, setting up and running an Information Society policy practice in Europe (1999–2006), with an emphasis on policy evaluation and scenario planning. Since 2006, he has been working as an independent strategic adviser to governments and businesses in close cooperation with leading independent research institutions in Europe (including RAND Europe, TNO Netherlands, DTI Danmark, Inno France, and CIVIC Germany). Today, he is internationally recognized as a governance and future Internet expert and is a regular contributor to international Internet governance events such as the Internet Governance Forum, where he is leading the Dynamic Coalition for the Internet of Things.

Next to advising the Dutch government and the European Commission on Internet governance issues, he got deeply involved in ICANN's work as a Board member and Chairman of the Public Interest Registry (2008–2016), over time actively participating in more than 40 ICANN meetings. Having worked internationally since 1995, he has extensive experience in working with people from different national and cultural backgrounds, and is comfortable in engaging in English, German, French, and Dutch (mother tongue). He has a reputation as an independent, trustworthy, out-of-the-box thinker who is able to look at issues from several perspectives with strong awareness of the bigger picture. Having served on boards and having reported to boards, he has extensive experience with effective board governance and the responsibilities and obligations that come with a director's position on a U.S. nonprofit board. Over the years, he has been a frequent guest speaker and/or moderator, mostly at smart technology-related events.

Maarten holds an advanced degree in business economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam. He is a certified coach and has a certificate in medical-based knowledge, both of which help in better understanding of what drives people in decision-making and going through life. In addition, he has completed several board excellence trainings with internationally renowned institutions, including Harvard Business School, INSEAD, IMD, MIT, Yale School of Management, and Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. His areas of interest include government, civil society, and technology.

Maarten is based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He was nominated to serve on the ICANN Board by the Nominating Committee in 2016 and served as Board Chair from 2019 until 2022. His third and final term will expire at the Annual General Meeting in 2025.

With ICANN70 still fresh on our minds, the ICANN Board is preparing to meet again for our next workshop, to be held from 30 April – 2 May 2021. To help streamline our agenda, on Thursday, 22 April, the Board Risk Committee (BRC) and the ICANN organization presented an update to the Risk Report, which is provided to and discussed by the Board twice a year.

2021 will certainly be remembered as a very busy year for ICANN. If you haven't already done so, I encourage you to read my recap of the Board workshop prior to the Virtual Community Forum. In it, you'll find an overview of some of the most pressing topics the Board is considering, such as the recommendations outlined in the final report of the Second Security, Stability, and Resiliency Review team (SSR2), as well as highlights from the resolutions stemming from our regular meeting of the Board.

On Friday, 30 April, we will kick off with a discussion with ICANN org President and CEO Göran Marby on current matters of interest. Becky Burr will then lead an update on the implementation of the recommendations laid out in the final report of the Competition, Consumer Trust, and Consumer Choice (CCT) Review Team. If you're interested in learning more about the CCT Review, I recommend reading this blog. For the final session of the day, Matthew Shears will give a presentation on the key trends highlighted at the Strategic Outlook Trend Identification session we held during our ICANN70 workshop.

On the second day of the workshop, Saturday, 1 May, we are holding two sessions. First, Avri Doria will be joined by Theresa Swinehart, ICANN org Senior Vice President of Global Domains and Strategy, to lead our discussion about how to approach scoping the Operational Design Phase (ODP) for the New generic top-level domain (gTLD) Subsequent Procedures (SubPro) Policy Development Process (PDP) recommendations that were approved by the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Council. The ODP will ensure that the Board's decision, advice, and comments regarding the recommendations take into consideration ICANN's Bylaws, the Board's fiduciary duties, costs associated with implementation, and more.

The second session, hosted by Danko Jevtović and Becky Burr, will focus on the ICANN org's resourcing plan and an overview of the prioritization framework under development. With so many initiatives in the works, and more to begin in the near future, the Board has a responsibility to ensure that ICANN org is planning for how we'll achieve our objectives. This requires thoughtful focus on how ICANN's resources will be utilized in the most efficient and effective manner possible. Having a clear framework for how we prioritize our work is an important step in that direction.

On the final day of the workshop, Sunday, 2 May, the Board will discuss the Governmental Advisory Committee's (GAC) ICANN70 Communiqué, which contained GAC Consensus Advice, and prepare for our response. Vice Chair León Sánchez will then lead the Board in drafting our Fiscal Year 2022 operational priorities. The Board's priorities help us identify opportunities to improve our own operational efficiency and develop consensus on how to pursue those goals. I recently joined León virtually for a conversation about these priorities, which you can watch here.

As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, the workshop will finish off with a feedback session. We'll reflect on the workshop, discuss the successes, and consider how to further improve the way we work together. One of the Board's goals is to leverage the lessons learned during this period of virtual interactions to enhance virtual participation for future ICANN meetings.

As always, I will provide a recap of what transpired during each of these sessions in my post-workshop blog, so stay tuned.

Authors

Maarten Botterman

Maarten Botterman

ICANN Board Member
Maarten Botterman

Maarten Botterman

ICANN Board Member

Maarten Botterman is an independent strategic adviser on Internet governance and related issues with more than 25 years' experience in guiding governments and major organizations on the economic, business, and societal impacts of current and future Internet innovations and technologies. During those 25-plus years, he participated in and led more than 50 international projects and studies and published more than 80 peer-reviewed reports for governments and industry on Future Net issues with teams, including experts with advanced academic degrees from many disciplines, ranging from technology and mathematics to economics and law, and from many different countries and cultures.

Maarten was employed as Head of Unit and Senior Adviser to the Dutch Government (1987–1995) and as Scientific Officer to the Communications Technology Research program that was run by the European Commission (1995–1999). These years brought many insights about the public interest and governance aspects of the developing global, networked knowledge society. These insights were further deepened when working for RAND Corporation, setting up and running an Information Society policy practice in Europe (1999–2006), with an emphasis on policy evaluation and scenario planning. Since 2006, he has been working as an independent strategic adviser to governments and businesses in close cooperation with leading independent research institutions in Europe (including RAND Europe, TNO Netherlands, DTI Danmark, Inno France, and CIVIC Germany). Today, he is internationally recognized as a governance and future Internet expert and is a regular contributor to international Internet governance events such as the Internet Governance Forum, where he is leading the Dynamic Coalition for the Internet of Things.

Next to advising the Dutch government and the European Commission on Internet governance issues, he got deeply involved in ICANN's work as a Board member and Chairman of the Public Interest Registry (2008–2016), over time actively participating in more than 40 ICANN meetings. Having worked internationally since 1995, he has extensive experience in working with people from different national and cultural backgrounds, and is comfortable in engaging in English, German, French, and Dutch (mother tongue). He has a reputation as an independent, trustworthy, out-of-the-box thinker who is able to look at issues from several perspectives with strong awareness of the bigger picture. Having served on boards and having reported to boards, he has extensive experience with effective board governance and the responsibilities and obligations that come with a director's position on a U.S. nonprofit board. Over the years, he has been a frequent guest speaker and/or moderator, mostly at smart technology-related events.

Maarten holds an advanced degree in business economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam. He is a certified coach and has a certificate in medical-based knowledge, both of which help in better understanding of what drives people in decision-making and going through life. In addition, he has completed several board excellence trainings with internationally renowned institutions, including Harvard Business School, INSEAD, IMD, MIT, Yale School of Management, and Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. His areas of interest include government, civil society, and technology.

Maarten is based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He was nominated to serve on the ICANN Board by the Nominating Committee in 2016 and served as Board Chair from 2019 until 2022. His third and final term will expire at the Annual General Meeting in 2025.

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