Dear ICANN Community,
At the end of July, I will be leaving my post as ICANN’s Chief Operating Officer.
While my engagement in the work of ICANN has made this a difficult decision, the reasons I am leaving are simple. I accepted my role with ICANN in December 2006 with the expectation that I’d commute the 300 miles to Los Angeles four days a week. I did that for twenty months, after which I chose to relocate to Los Angeles – both to do a better job for ICANN, and to see my wife of 27 years every once and a while :-) . After relocating for what will be more than two years, and much family discussion, we’ve determined that our life is not in Los Angeles.
ICANN needs a full-time, Los Angeles-based Chief Operating Officer, and recruiting for this role will begin almost immediately. For anyone considering the role, it is a great job! Of course a key to success is working well with the community, Board, staff and CEO. I greatly appreciate – at both the personal and professional levels – the respect and support Rod has shown for me and for the role of COO. We have worked closely and extremely well together.
So let me reflect a bit. When leaving an organization, it is natural to think about what has changed. While ICANN still has several areas where it is deliberately evolving and improving, I believe it is a transformed organization from the one I joined in 2006. The community, Board and staff I’ve had the privilege to work with have accomplished a great deal. Here are just a few examples.
ICANN’s technology resources and activities have been completely overhauled. During my first three months at ICANN, we had two multi-hour total service outages. Today, ICANN has two professionally run, off-site data centers with much of the needed infrastructure for full business continuity for IANA and other services in place. ICANN operates a world-class root service with the L-root, has DNSSEC-signed icann.org and is on the verge of DNSSEC-signing the root zone with our partners, and more.
ICANN’s accountability through public reporting has changed just as much. Just a few of these changes include a public dashboard that reports monthly on a wide array of ICANN’s activities – from finances to IANA performance. Financial reporting has gone from telegraphic to discursive, with at least four different ways of reporting on and understanding ICANN’s expenditures. ICANN has also published executive compensation data and background on the entire compensation approach, and much more.
At a community support level, we’ve dramatically enhanced remote meeting participation, staff support for policy development, thorough and timely analysis of public comment processes, and more. For international participation, translation and interpretation has gone from almost nothing to routine support of the five UN languages in publication and on some teleconferences. Support has also meant working more collaboratively with stakeholders on issues like compliance, resulting in better communication and measurably more effective enforcement.
Finally, as COO, you’d hope I care about operations! Probably not that visible to most community members is a rigorous internal management process where personal accountabilities for completing ICANN’s approved operating plan are assessed thrice yearly, and objectives are aligned across the organization. Another important management process has been the IANA Business Excellence project begun about a year ago that has already improved our IANA services, and will help us continue to evolve the IANA function over time.
And ICANN’s financial security is better than ever, with an investment policy that weathered one of the worst financial downturns in the last 100 years, and has now returned several million dollars to ICANN’s reserve fund now standing at $47MM.
I know that in the middle of ICANN’s challenging work, it can sometimes be frustrating that things aren’t moving fast enough (or are moving too fast :-). I offer these reflections to provide the perspective that in my experience of ICANN, things have substantially transformed, and in a relatively short time. The work of everyone involved in ICANN has made that possible, and I believe that three years from now, the pace of improvement will have accelerated.
Let me personally thank the many of you who have advised and supported me. I look forward to staying in touch with all of you, wherever life may take me. While the passage of time made it easy for my wife and me to decide that it was time to move on, leaving ICANN has been a very difficult decision. Yes, it can be frustrating at times, but in much greater measure, it does very important work and has achieved a great deal. I am honored to have played a part in that.
Best,
Doug
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{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Kieren McCarthy 04.27.10 at 12:25 pm
Can I be the first to offer my congratulations Doug. I’m surprised to hear you are off – although considering the pressures of the job, it’s probably a healthy choice
– and ICANN will be worse off for not having you.
You have done a tremendous job making ICANN run more professionally internally. It was a very difficult task and, sadly, you’re unlikely to get much credit for it as few people will see the direct results of all your hard labour, so I’d like to acknowledge them here.
I wish you all the best in future endeavours and hope to run into you soon.
Kieren
Thomas Roessler 04.27.10 at 12:44 pm
ICANN will be much worse off without you. I don’t think there’s much more I have to say, except for: Thanks!
Michael Sprague 04.27.10 at 12:50 pm
ICANN will fill your desk, but will be hard pressed to fill your shoes.
Good luck to you in all your future endeavors. Too bad I did not get a chance to know you better while I was in MdR.
David Taylor 04.27.10 at 1:05 pm
Doug
A loss for ICANN is clearly a gain for your wife and family. You have done great things with ICANN and staff are so often under-acknowledged. Your personal touch has not gone unnoticed.
Best
David
Eric Lyon 04.27.10 at 1:11 pm
Sorry to hear that you are going
I can truly understand the importance of of choosing family over work / career though. A career path or company can easily be changed, but a family is forever. Definitely do what’s right for you and your family first and foremost.
I wish you all the best of success on your journey in life and hope that you and your family remain happy and secure through it all. Good luck to you and best wishes, we’ll miss you.
Byron Holland 04.27.10 at 1:24 pm
Doug,
All the best in your next endeavor.
I certainly appreciate what you have done for ICANN and the cc community. Your forthrightness, strong follow through, and bridge building will be missed.
Cheers,
Byron
Steve Metalitz 04.27.10 at 1:28 pm
Doug, you have certainly made a major positive contribution to ICANN. You will be missed!
Steve Metalitz
Jothan Frakes 04.27.10 at 2:16 pm
Doug-
You’ve been a major blessing to ICANN, and you’ve added so much to the trust and integrity perception throughout the public and the industry.
You’ll be missed
-Jothan
Constantine Roussos 04.27.10 at 3:23 pm
Doug,
Great job at ICANN. You will certainly be missed. It is certainly a sad day for the ICANN community for losing one of its top executives. Family does come first and I applaud you for doing what is best for your famly.
I wish you all the happiness and continued success (and USC football winning the BCS championship of course!),
Fight on,
Constantine Roussos
.music
http://www.music.us
Ken Stubbs 04.27.10 at 3:29 pm
Doug…
The ICANN community has benefited greatly from your efforts. They are losing a person of real quality and one who embodies the definition of \”integrity\”.
ICANN\’s loss will clearly be your family\’s gain !
My very best wishes for you & your family
Ken
Adrian Kinderis 04.27.10 at 3:31 pm
Doug,
Your perennial smile and respectful style will be very much missed. I found you intelligent, patient and knowledgable in your position. Thank you for your tireless contribution over the time you have been at ICANN. I look forward to a celebratory drink in Brussels and wish you all the best for you and your family in the future.
Adrian Kinderis
Jeffrey Eckhaus 04.27.10 at 3:56 pm
Doug –
Sorry to hear you will be leaving the ICANN community. You brought a much needed real business perspective to this environment and we are all better off for that. Good Luck in your next role
Jeff Eckhaus
Anonymous 04.27.10 at 4:30 pm
Doug:
It’s a sad day in ICANN-Land. You were a fantastic addition to the team and your leaving will be a tremendous loss. I really enjoyed working with you. Looking forward to celebrating your accomplishments in Brussels.
Best,
Jon Nevett
Olga Cavalli 04.27.10 at 6:09 pm
Dear Doug,
I wish you the best in this new stage in your life, I enjoyed your professionalism and patience attending all our requests.
We will all miss you.
Regards
Olga Cavalli
avri 04.27.10 at 9:04 pm
Doug,
I have enjoyed working with you very much – you were always receptive, reasoned and fair. I feel that your departure from ICANN is a huge loss to us all.
Best of luck.
a.
Fahd A. Batayneh 04.27.10 at 9:08 pm
Doug, I would like to thank you for you relentless efforts; you will surely be missed. I wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavors.
Nick Ashton-Hart 04.27.10 at 9:36 pm
Dear Doug, as I said to you when I let you know I was leaving, one of the things I’ll miss most at ICANN is interacting with you on a regular basis. Whomever succeeds you will have very big shoes to fill, not just professionally, but personally. Wherever you end up going next will be a very lucky organisation!
Lesley Cowley 04.28.10 at 1:10 am
Hi Doug,
Like many others in the ICANN community, I am sad to hear this news and understand how difficult the decision will have been for you. You have achieved some great things at ICANN and I wish you every future success.
Kind regards,
Lesley
Klaus Radermacher 04.28.10 at 2:36 am
Doug,
I am very sorry to hear that you are leaving ICANN. Besides the many things you changed and started at ICANN mentioned in your blog post, I’d like to add the Business Excellence activity I had the privilige to support. Many of the things you got going will have a long-lasting impact and you will be remembered for them!
It has always been a pleasure to work with you. I respect you “family-based” decision and wish you all the best in whatever you will do next. Let’s stay in touch!
Best regards, Klaus
Andrzej Bartosiewicz 04.28.10 at 11:41 am
Dear Doug,
It’s sad to hear that you are leaving ICANN.
You are the the pillar of ICANN. You have done a lot for the ICANN and the whole community.
When I was Chairman of CENTR, we had many opportunities to meet and discuss. You were the first and the only “CXO” from ICANN who joined out meetings. Thank you for this great time.
You will be missed – good luck!
Andrzej
CEO, YonConsulting.com
JJS 04.28.10 at 9:20 pm
Dear Doug,
several metaphors come to mind in relation to your crucial role in ICANN. A beacon, with mobility added; a powerful control centre, with a distinctive human touch; an accomplished sportsman, on whom a suit and a tie sit naturally; the best in US informality, which makes sophistication seem so widely shared; competence through and through, but it’s never a big deal; the courage to come forth, without a trace of condescension.
You have brought to ICANN, to each of us, more than was required by the strict definition of your duties. You were always available, with the paramount elegance of never being ruffled. Solid common sense serves you well and, more than once, helped bridge the divide between What Should Have Been (a place quite crowded) and What Can Be Done (well known territory, but strangely empty).
My wish for ICANN is that the standard you have set will create emulation, not only on the part of the next COO, but more widely in our organization, for the benefit of our whole community.
With best wishes for your family and you,
Jean-Jacques.
Cheryl Langdon-Orr 04.29.10 at 8:44 pm
Doug making the right choices for the right reasons is something you are indeed well practiced and experienced in, and so while I applaud your wise choice in giving your family priority, I must mark the moment of your leaving ICANN as a huge loss to all of us => ICANN and the Community it serves, and has served so much better with you on the team.
You have been a most valuable asset and change agent to ICANN and have been personally responsible for much of the trust being currently developed in the organisation by members of the At-Large community; THANK YOU.
Much has been said, so eloquently by others, to mark our sadness and disappointed at this pivotal event in our shared history, as well as the challenges the person who takes on your role will have in matching the benchmarks you have set. But if I may, on a personal note, might I record here what a true pleasure it has been to work with you since you joined ICANN, and how much I value the specific role you have been able to take in brokering the’ changes for good’ that you have outlined in your reflections (and so much more that you have not recorded).
Our loss will of course be someone else’s gain (not limited to you family) and I trust we will have, and look forward to, the opportunity to work together again in the near future. Please keep in touch with ICANN and all of us who regret but respect your choices.
Best wishes to you and yours,
CLO
Bob Finley 05.02.10 at 7:37 am
Doug,
Sounds like you made a well-thought out choice and your priorities are spot on.
Let me know what types of opportunities you are looking for and I’ll keep my eyes open.
Sincerely,
Bob
Khaled Fattal 05.03.10 at 1:51 am
Doug,
The manner and class you performed your duties as COO added stability and integrity at ICANN. You were a class act and without a doubt you will be irreplaceable. I salute you for the choice you made putting your family first.
Best of Luck,
(Fight on)
Khaled
Gary Carlson 05.03.10 at 9:37 am
Doug,
It seems like you have made the best decision for you and your family. I too truely believe in the work that ICANN is doing and am so happy to also have been a part of the ICANN culture in my past life.
I wish you and your family all the best and hope that you will stay in touch.
Warm Regards,
Gary Carlson
Ellen Shankman 05.03.10 at 11:55 pm
Dear Doug:
It has been a delight and privilege to work together with you, and to get to know you better in our intensive IRT times. You will be missed and I wish you and your family all the best.
Warmest,
Ellen Shankman
Tomas Velázquez 05.04.10 at 7:29 am
Thank you for sharing the informaticon with us. Regards,
Eric Brunner-Williams 05.04.10 at 9:37 am
Doug,
Sitting down with you at Cairo and working through the numbers for the recurring costs to new registries remains for me the high point of professionalism and public service. As an Angeleno, and a Bay Area resident (lifetime status for both), I understand the choice, and the decision to return north.
Best wishes after Bruxelles!
Eric