ICANN Announcements

Read ICANN Announcements to stay informed of the latest policymaking activities, regional events, and more.

Naela Sarras Appointed ICANN Vice President of Stakeholder Engagement in North America

17 September 2020

Naela Sarras

LOS ANGELES – 17 September 2020 – Today, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced that Naela Sarras has been appointed Vice President of Stakeholder Engagement, North America. She is based in Los Angeles and reports to Sally Costerton, Senior Vice President of Global Stakeholder Engagement.

"ICANN's North America region is home to many ICANN-accredited registries and registrars, established civil society organizations, and members of the technical community who participate in Internet standards organizations," Costerton said, "These stakeholders will benefit from the remarkable depth of Naela's experience."

Sarras joined ICANN org in 2005 and is currently the Director of IANA Operations, overseeing many of the most important technical functions that ICANN facilitates. She is a highly respected member of and key liaison to ICANN's technical community. Sarras has been instrumental in many projects, such as the Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) program, which is helping build a multilingual Internet for the next generation of Internet users across the globe. Sarras is fluent in English and Arabic, and has a degree in Computer Information Systems and Business Administration.

She will transition to her new role in November, where she will help build and diversify ICANN's multistakeholder base across North America. ICANN org is recruiting for an operations director to fill her IANA position.

ABOUT ICANN

ICANN's mission is to help ensure a stable, secure, and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you need to type an address – a name or a number – into your computer or other device. That address must be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world. ICANN was formed in 1998 as a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with a community of participants from all over the world.