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Reflections on 2024 and a New Chapter for ICANN

23 December 2024
By
Tripti Sinha

Tripti Sinha

ICANN Board Chair

Tripti Sinha is the President and CEO of Internet2, where she champions the organization’s core mission of enabling U.S. higher education and research institutions to collaborate on mission-critical technology services and emerging technologies. Internet2 also works with global National Research and Education Networks (NRENs). Sinha has over three decades of progressive experience in Internet and Cyber-Infrastructure technologies. Her experience spans leadership roles in engineering, operations, finance, governance, advocacy, and policy.

Before joining Internet2, Tripti held two leadership roles at the University of Maryland: Assistant Vice President and Chief Technology Officer and Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX), a regional research and education network. In these roles, she supported advanced, high-performance networking and research technologies, including GPU compute infrastructure optimized for AI workloads and investigating evolving quantum networking technologies.

She has served on many non-profit and private sector technology advisory boards, and was past Chair of The Quilt’s Board of Directors and former Co-Chair of ICANN’s Root Server System Advisory Committee.

Tripti has a Computer Science degree from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts and did graduate work in Computer Science at the University of Maryland. She holds executive education certificates from Harvard Kennedy School in Public Leadership and Policy, and in Global Innovation and Execution from Stanford University. She was born in India and lives in the United States. As a child and young adult, Tripti moved back-and-forth between the U.S. and India which gave her an appreciation for global pluralism. She is proficient in English and Hindi, and understands Punjabi, Urdu and the ancient Sanskrit language. Sinha has a keen interest in Information and Communication Technology innovation, entrepreneurship, governance and policy, and international affairs.

Tripti was nominated to serve on the ICANN Board of Directors by the Nominating Committee in 2018. Her term will expire at the Annual General Meeting 2027.

The members of the 2024 ICANN Board pose for a group photo at ICANN81 in Istanbul.

As 2024 comes to an end, ICANN is beginning a new chapter with Kurtis Lindqvist, our new president and CEO, in the lead. This is a good time to reflect on all that ICANN has accomplished this year and look forward to the opportunities and challenges ahead.

In 2024, the ICANN community, Board, and organization (org) worked together and kept pace on major initiatives. In February, ICANN published the Registration Data Policy, which marked the culmination of years of collaboration between the ICANN community and org. The inaugural ICANN Grant Program application cycle opened in March, garnering 247 applications. Also in March, the second annual Universal Acceptance Day drew more than 6,500 participants at 52 events around the world.

Throughout the year, ICANN org made steady progress toward opening the next round of new generic top-level domain applications, launching the Applicant Support Program and the Registry Service Provider Evaluation Program in November. Meanwhile, the ICANN community, Board, and org collaborated to develop the next five-year ICANN Strategic Plan.

In addition to these achievements, this year has brought its share of challenges. ICANN is navigating a complex financial situation, which has led the organization to make difficult decisions. The Board is committed to ensuring ICANN's financial stability and sustainability.

This year, we also are engaged in significant global conversations about the future of Internet governance. In September, the U.N. General Assembly adopted the Global Digital Compact as an annex to the Pact for the Future. This past week, I participated in the 2024 Internet Governance Forum with a delegation from ICANN, which led sessions on topics that included the role of the technical community, the importance of digital inclusion, and the advantages of multistakeholder Internet governance.

Next year, these discussions will culminate in the 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society outcomes. For UA Day 2025, ICANN is collaborating with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which shares our goal of promoting a more inclusive and multilingual Internet. ICANN also will continue to combat Domain Name System Abuse by supporting the implementation of the new contract provisions and by providing research, data, and expertise. Furthermore, we will leverage our close ties with the numbers community to bolster our collaboration and ensure the strength and resiliency of the Internet number resources like Internet Protocol addresses.

On behalf of the ICANN Board, I would like to thank everyone for their contributions this year in support of our mission. Moreover, I would like to send a special thank you to Sally Costerton for serving as Interim President and CEO and ensuring continuity at ICANN.

You will be hearing more from me in the new year. Until then, I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season, and I look forward to working together to fulfill our mission in 2025.

Authors

Tripti Sinha

Tripti Sinha

ICANN Board Chair
Tripti Sinha

Tripti Sinha

ICANN Board Chair

Tripti Sinha is the President and CEO of Internet2, where she champions the organization’s core mission of enabling U.S. higher education and research institutions to collaborate on mission-critical technology services and emerging technologies. Internet2 also works with global National Research and Education Networks (NRENs). Sinha has over three decades of progressive experience in Internet and Cyber-Infrastructure technologies. Her experience spans leadership roles in engineering, operations, finance, governance, advocacy, and policy.

Before joining Internet2, Tripti held two leadership roles at the University of Maryland: Assistant Vice President and Chief Technology Officer and Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX), a regional research and education network. In these roles, she supported advanced, high-performance networking and research technologies, including GPU compute infrastructure optimized for AI workloads and investigating evolving quantum networking technologies.

She has served on many non-profit and private sector technology advisory boards, and was past Chair of The Quilt’s Board of Directors and former Co-Chair of ICANN’s Root Server System Advisory Committee.

Tripti has a Computer Science degree from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts and did graduate work in Computer Science at the University of Maryland. She holds executive education certificates from Harvard Kennedy School in Public Leadership and Policy, and in Global Innovation and Execution from Stanford University. She was born in India and lives in the United States. As a child and young adult, Tripti moved back-and-forth between the U.S. and India which gave her an appreciation for global pluralism. She is proficient in English and Hindi, and understands Punjabi, Urdu and the ancient Sanskrit language. Sinha has a keen interest in Information and Communication Technology innovation, entrepreneurship, governance and policy, and international affairs.

Tripti was nominated to serve on the ICANN Board of Directors by the Nominating Committee in 2018. Her term will expire at the Annual General Meeting 2027.

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