<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><br><div><div>On Aug 19, 2011, at 5:19 AM, nhklein wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite">
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While I agree with Milton Mueller and others that we have to stay
focused on our NCSG concerns, I think they are clearly stated as NOT
having been central to the achievements of the outgoing ICANN CEO,
as he says in the press release:<br>
<br>
“I can summarize my time here in four words: strong execution, great
teambuilding,” he said. “We have<br>
built a world-class executive team, and elevated ICANN’s stature
through <b>strategic relationships with<br>
governments, businesses, top technology firms and international
organizations.</b>”<br>
<br>
Is this the "Internet community"?<br></div></blockquote><div><br></div>It's just an oversight. Often he mentions ALAC as well… ;-)</div><div><br></div><div>Bill<br><blockquote type="cite"><div text="#000000" bgcolor="#ffffff"><br>
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On 08/19/2011 04:05 AM, Milton L Mueller wrote:
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<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Maria<br>
I did not say that it didn't matter who the CEO is. Of course it
does. But its a fact that NCUC/NSCG had its worst forms of
persecution by ICANN staff before Rod was CEO, and that little
changed for us when he was hired.<br>
<br>
What I think we need to distance ourselves from are Kierens
claims that Rod took credit for things that others did and other
kinds of personality issues. Its just not relevant to us. <br>
<br>
<font color="#cc0000">Milton Mueller<br>
</font><font color="#cc0000">Professor, Syracuse University
School of Information Studies </font></div>
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-----Original message-----<br>
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<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><b>From:
</b>Maria Farrell <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:maria.farrell@gmail.com"><maria.farrell@gmail.com></a><b><br>
To: </b>Milton L Mueller <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:mueller@syr.edu"><mueller@syr.edu></a><b><br>
Cc: </b><a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:NCSG-DISCUSS@listserv.syr.edu">"NCSG-DISCUSS@listserv.syr.edu"</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:NCSG-DISCUSS@listserv.syr.edu"><NCSG-DISCUSS@listserv.syr.edu></a><b><br>
Sent: </b>Thu, Aug 18, 2011 17:59:19 GMT+00:00<b><br>
Subject: </b>Re: Fwd: [council] Rod Beckstrom to leave
ICANN at the end of his term<br>
<br>
</div>
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<div>
I have to disagree, Milton.
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<div>For a start, Kieren resigned at his own behest. (I was
fired though - and I'm not in this for revenge but because
I care about how the organisation works.) He's not a
vengeful guy and is demonstrably pursuing the same
arguments and issues he did before he ever worked for
ICANN. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>But to the main point - that it doesn't matter who's
running the ship - the 'plague on all your houses'
approach. Of course it matters who's in charge. NCUC has,
rightly, complained strenuously for several years about
being pushed aside by staff in favour of the at large and
other gnso constituencies. That's staff-directed policy
and can change overnight, depending on who runs the
show. Even if we care less about the org as a whole,
there's still a clear benefit for ncuc in some types of
ceo rather than others. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Which is not to be completely naive about it. The CEO
is not going to change our lives, here in NCUC, but she or
he will have an impact and we can have one back. </div>
<div><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">2011/8/18 Milton L Mueller <span dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:mueller@syr.edu">mueller@syr.edu</a>></span><br>
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<div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: "Courier New"; color:
rgb(31, 73, 125);">Kieren makes some
worthwhile points here but you have to
remember that Kieren was fired by Beckstrom,
so he has a revenge motive in writing things
like this. From NCSG’s point of view, a lot of
this kind of stuff is a bunch of snarky
disputes among insiders and doesn’t affect our
status or the policies we care about much.
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: "Courier New"; color:
rgb(31, 73, 125);">--MM</span></p><div><span style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: "Courier New"; color:
rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>
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rgb(181, 196, 223) -moz-use-text-color
-moz-use-text-color; padding: 3pt 0in 0in;"><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">From:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> NCSG-Discuss
[mailto:<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:NCSG-DISCUSS@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU">NCSG-DISCUSS@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU</a>]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Poomjit
Sirawongprasert<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, August 17, 2011
2:16 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:NCSG-DISCUSS@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU">NCSG-DISCUSS@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU</a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [NCSG-Discuss] Fwd:
[council] Rod Beckstrom to leave ICANN
at the end of his term</span></p>
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<div class="h5"><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:
12pt;">How about his?<br>
<br>
ICANN fires its CEO<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://news.dot-nxt.com/2011/08/16/icann-fires-ceo" target="_BLANK">http://news.dot-nxt.com/2011/08/16/icann-fires-ceo</a></p>
<h1>ICANN fires its CEO</h1><p class="MsoNormal"><span>by Kieren
McCarthy | 16 Aug 2011 | </span></p>
<div><p><img moz-do-not-send="true" hspace="6" align="right">The CEO of ICANN Rod
Beckstrom has announced he is leaving
the organization at the end of his
contract.
</p><p>According to a <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/RodBeckstrom/status/103607748717060096" target="_BLANK">
tweet</a> sent out by Beckstrom at
4.20pm PST: “I have decided to wrap up
my service at ICANN July 2012”, adding
“Press release soon.”
</p><p>The <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://news.dot-nxt.com/sites/news.dot-nxt.com/files/release-16aug11-en.pdf" target="_BLANK">
press release</a> [pdf] followed 20
minutes later and comprised largely of
Beckstrom listing his achievements in
the first and third person. “I can
summarize my time here in four words:
strong execution, great team-building,”
he was quoted as saying.</p><p>Board chair Steve Crocker, who took
over the post only two months ago, noted
that: “The Board of Directors fully
supports Rod through the completion of
his July 2012 term.”</p><p><span>Behind the pronouncements lies a
different story</span><span>Behind the
pronouncements lies a different story</span>.
It is well known in ICANN circles that
there has been significant concern over
Beckstrom’s performance for some time.
And we understand that Beckstrom’s
“decision” was made for him at a secret
Board meeting earlier this month.</p><p>Unlike the three other CEOs that have
presided over ICANN in its 11-year
history, Beckstrom lobbied hard to have
his contract renewed, even giving a
public speech at ICANN’s most recent
meeting in Singapore in June listing
what he had achieved as CEO.
Accompanying today’s press release,
somewhat bizarrely, is a <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://news.dot-nxt.com/sites/news.dot-nxt.com/files/factsheet-beckstrom-accomplishments-16aug11-en.pdf" target="_BLANK">
separate PDF</a> listing Beckstrom’s
“notable accomplishments”. </p><p><strong><span>Credit score</span></strong></p><p>Ironically, it is Beckstrom’s attempt
to personally attach himself to all the
organization’s successes that is a major
reason for his failure as an ICANN CEO:
he is seen as too quick to claim credit
for others’ work and to put personal
promotion ahead of effective management.
In two years in charge, almost the
entire senior management team has left.
Community questions as to why were met
with obtuse reference to industry
percentages.
</p><p>Having written a book lauding the power
of leaderless structures over
traditional hierarchy – the first
likened to a starfish, the second to a
spider – many were surprised when
Beckstrom created an even stronger
hierarchy within ICANN, with him as the
head. And the bottleneck.</p><p><span>Beckstrom’s claim to have
encouraged “great team-building” were
famously called into question at the
organization’s meeting in San
Francisco</span><span>Beckstrom’s
claim to have encouraged “great
team-building” were famously called
into question at the organization’s
meeting in San Francisco</span> in
March this year when former staff member
Maria Farrell took the microphone during
a public forum to announce her “profound
disquiet about how the organization is
operationally being managed” and talked
of a "hollowing out of expertise” and a
“climate of fear stalking the ICANN
staff”. Her comments were met with
prolonged applause.</p><p><strong><span>Parachute</span></strong></p><p>Likewise, Beckstrom’s most significant
claim to have negotiated an historic
agreement with the US government that
saw ICANN gain greater autonomy is
largely fanciful: he was in charge for
less than three months before the
agreement was signed, whereas
negotiations had been going on for 18
months between ICAN
</p>
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<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
A while ago, I started a new blog:
...thinking it over... after 21 years in Cambodia
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.thinking21.org/">http://www.thinking21.org/</a>
continuing to share reports and comments from Cambodia.
Norbert Klein
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:nhklein@gmx.net">nhklein@gmx.net</a>
Phnom Penh / Cambodia
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