Today, I would like to share with you that Ashwin Rangan, Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Senior Vice President (SVP), Engineering recently notified me of his decision to step down from his position. His last day was 1 December 2023.
Ash, who has led ICANN’s technology practice since March 2014 will be greatly missed. During his tenure he championed the digital transformation of our systems and processes, reduced our reliance on disparate platforms, shepherded the technical development of the Information Transparency Platform and Open Data system, and led the Engineering team to excel.
As CIO and SVP of Engineering, Ash ensured high-availability of IT-enabled services. He oversaw the staff responsible for Information Technology (IT) Governance and project management, IT security, IT infrastructure, community-facing solutions, and staff-facing operations-management systems. He provided leadership, management, and strategic guidance to the L-Root operations team and served as staff liaison to the Root Server System Advisory Committee.
Ash has been on medical leave recovering from an injury sustained several months ago. During this time he began contemplating retirement, and ultimately decided that now is the right time to step down after nearly 40 years of success as an innovator and leader.
Personally I would like to thank Ash for his many contributions and his partnership over the past 10 years. He is a valued friend and colleague; I speak for the entire org staff in wishing him the very best in his continuing recovery and future endeavors.
The Engineering function is a vital service provider to the org, Board, and community, and continuity of leadership and steady support for this team is imperative. With this in mind, I have asked Andre Abed, Vice President, Relationship and Delivery Management, to serve as interim head of the function. Andre has provided steady support for the team during Ash’s leave, for which I am truly appreciative.
I have complete faith and trust in Andre. He will have full authority to lead the team and will represent the Engineering function on the Executive Team until the SVP, Engineering position is filled. As with other interim roles, the incoming ICANN President and CEO will determine who fills them permanently.
