Minutes | Board Finance Committee (BFC) Meeting 15 April 2021

BFC Attendees: Harald Alverstrand, Becky Burr, Ron da Silva, Danko Jevtović (Chair), Ihab Osman, Mandla Msimang, and Tripti Sinha

Other Board Member Attendees: Avri Doria and Lito Ibarra

ICANN org Attendees: Michelle Bright (Board Content Coordination Director), Xavier Calvez (SVP, Planning and Chief Financial Officer), Franco Carrasco (Board Operations Specialist), Sally Costerton (SVP, Global Stakeholder Engagement, Senior Advisor to the President and CEO), Elizabeth Le (Associate General Counsel), Jia-Rong Low (VP, Stakeholder Engagement), Alex Morshed (Finance Manager), Becky Nash (VP, Planning), Wendy Profit (Board Operations Senior Manager), Shani Quidwai (Sr. Director, Finance), Darrel Spearman (Director, Administrative Services and Facilities), Amy Stathos (Deputy General Counsel), and Gina Villavicencio (SVP, Global Human Resources)


The following is a summary of discussions, actions taken and actions identified:

  1. BFC Minutes – The Committee reviewed and approved the Minutes of the 16 March 2021 meeting.
  2. BFC Workplan – The BFC reviewed its Workplan for FY21, which is on track, although not all meetings scheduled may be necessary.
  3. Contracting Approval – Singapore Office Lease – The BFC received a briefing on the status of the Singapore lease, which is set to expire in September 2021. ICANN org is looking to maintain an office in the Singapore area and has collaborated with a local broker to understand its options. After conducting its due diligence, including a procurement process, ICANN org recommended that that the org renew the existing location lease for [TERM REDACTED FOR NEGOTIATION PURPOSES]. The costs for the current location are: (i) reasonable; (ii) in line with other comparable properties; and (iii) are expected to be nearly the same in the [TERM REDACTED FOR NEGOTIATION PURPOSES] as they are today. Following discussion, the BFC approved a recommendation that the Board authorize the President and CEO, or his designee(s), to enter into, and make disbursement in furtherance of a [TERM REDACTED FOR NEGOTIATION PURPOSES] lease renewal for the Singapore office.

    • Action: ICANN org to prepare relevant materials for Board consideration.
  4. Investment Policy Revisions – The BFC previously approved a recommendation that the Board approve the creation of the Supplemental Fund for Implementation of Community Recommendations (SFICR). The BFC also previously reviewed proposed revisions to the Investment Policy to include a SFICR, and a statement regarding the hierarch of funds. The BFC is now presented with an updated version of the proposed revised Investment Policy, reflecting the Committee's most recent edits. Following discussion, the BFC approved a recommendation that the ICANN Board approve the revised ICANN Investment Policy, which, among other things, establishes the governance of the SFICR.

      • Action:ICANN org to prepare relevant materials for Board consideration.
  5. SFICR Community Engagement Plan – ICANN org briefed the Committee on a proposed community engagement plan on the SFICR. The proposal includes a webinar at the end of April to discuss the prioritization of ICANN's work and the recommendation to create a SFICR. In this webinar, the Planning team will provide an overview of the SFICR, purpose and scope, work plan including community engagement and ask for input from the Community on the proposed approach. In addition, it is anticipated that the webinar will bring awareness and transparency to the SFICR before it is considered for approval by the Board. The Committee asked ICANN org to prepare a short memo briefing the full Board about the webinar and to provide the Committee the opportunity to review the presentation materials prior to the webinar.

    • Actions:

      • ICANN org to prepare a short memo briefing the full Board about the webinar
      • ICANN org to provide the Committee the opportunity to review the presentation materials prior to the webinar.

Published on 03 June 2021