[bc-gnso] FOUR BC MEMBERS SPEAKING CONFLICTS OF INTEREST ICANN 43 COSTA RICA PUBLIC FORUM REVISED

["Chris Chaplow" <chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

ICANN 43 COSTA RICA PUBLIC FORUM

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

 

FOUR BC MEMBERS SPEAKING 

JOHN BERARD
ZAHID JAMIL
MICHAEL PALAGE
MARILYN CADE

 

REVISED TO CORRECT ERROR 

 

>> JOHN BERARD:  MY NAME IS JOHN BERARD, I'M A MEMBER OF THE BUSINESS
CONSTITUENCY. I AM GNSO COUNCILLOR FOR THE BUSINESS CONSTITUENCY BUT I'M
SPEAKING PERSONALLY. I AM AN INDEPENDENT PUBLIC RELATIONS CONSULTANT BASED
IN SAN FRANCISCO AND HAVE PERSONALLY SAT ON FOUR DIFFERENT NON--PROFITS
BOARDS. I SIT ON ONE JUST NOW, IN FACT. AND EACH OF THEM IS DULY CONCERNED
AS YOU ARE ABOUT MANAGING POTENTIAL AND THE PERCEPTION OF AND THE REAL
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST THAT CONFRONT A NON--PROFIT BOARD WHICH HAS TO RELY
OFTEN ON THE EXPERTISE OF THOSE BOARD MEMBERS WHERE STAFF MIGHT NOT BE
AVAILABLE.

 

BUT HAVING SAID THAT, IT IS IN THE AIR IN THE WEEK THAT I HAVE BEEN HERE, I
HAVE HEARD TWO THINGS. ONE, THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE ACTION ON THIS SO AS TO
PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF THE ORGANIZATION. BUT I FEAR OVERREACTION BECAUSE
THE LAST THING THAT A BOARD NEEDS IS TO SET POLICIES THAT PREVENT THE
SMARTEST AND MOST KNOWLEDGEABLE PEOPLE WHO IN AN HONEST AND FAIR WAY CAN
CONTRIBUTE TO THE BEST DECISIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE ORGANIZATION.

 

SO THAT'S MY POINT. ACTION IS FABULOUS. OVERREACTION WILL BE MORE HARMFUL
THAN HELPFUL. THANK YOU.   HOW'D I DO?

 

>>STEVE CROCKER: I'M VERY HAPPY.

 

>> JOHN BERARD: GOOD.

 

>>ZAHID JAMIL: I'M ZAHID JAMIL I'M A MEMBER OF THE BC. I'M PEEKING ON BEHALF
OF THE INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AT THE MOMENT. I WANTED TO SAY IN
THIS CONTEXT WE CONSIDER THIS AN IMPORTANT JUNCTURE FOR ICANN AND
STRENGTHENING ITS ETHICS AND CONFLICT APPROACHES IS KEY. GLOBAL BUSINESS
UNDERSTANDS THE IMPORTANCE OF A STRONG AND EFFECTIVE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
APPROACH THAT RELATE TO ISSUES AND IS APPROPRIATELY APPLIED.

 

WE ENCOURAGE FOCUS ON THE REAL OBJECTIVES OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICIES
SUCH AS ENSURING DECISIONS AND VOTES ARE NOT INFLUENCED BY FINANCIAL OR
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE INTERESTS. THAT SAID, WE BELIEVE THE BOARD NEEDS TO BE
COMPRISED OF MEMBERS WITH A RANGE OF EXPERIENCE INCLUDING FROM WITHIN THE
ICANN COMMUNITY. WE ALSO SUGGEST THAT PARTICULAR CARE BE TAKEN TO ENSURE
THAT CONFLICT POLICIES ARE NOT REACTIONARY OR GO TO A NEW EXTREME.

 

WE ALSO SUGGEST THAT A CONFLICT OF INTEREST APPROACH ENSURES THAT THE POLICY
IS CLEAR, UNDERS

 

>>STEVE CROCKER: THANK YOU.

 

>>MICHAEL PALAGE: MIKE PALAGE.

IN 13 YEARS, I'VE KIND OF EARNED A REPUTATION OF BEING A TOUGH-LOVE CRITIC
OF ICANN. SO THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN VERY OFTEN, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO APPLAUD THE
BOARD FOR THEIR HEIGHTENED SENSITIVITY, THE CONFLICTS. SO AS I SAID, I
UNDERSTAND THERE ARE SOME BOARD MEMBERS THAT MAY NOT BE PARTICIPATING IN THE
NEW gTLD PROCESS BUT I THINK AT THIS PARTICULAR POINT IN TIME IN THE
INSTITUTION, I THINK ERROR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION IS THE APPROPRIATE COURSE
OF ACTION.

 

THE ONE THING I'D LIKE TO SAY THOSE IS AFTER READING THE MINUTES FROM THE
EARLIER BOARD MEETING WHERE CERTAIN DIRECTORS RECUSED THEMSELVES, THE FIRST
THING I DID WAS GO TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS PAGE AND I WAS LOOKING FOR THE
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND I PULLED UP THE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND I SOME
PEOPLE WERE -- SOME PEOPLE THAT REMOVED THEMSELVES FROM THE NEW gTLD
DELIBERATIONS I DID NOT SEE A CORRESPONDING CHANGE IN THEIR STATEMENT OF
INTEREST. SO THAT LEFT ME A LITTLE CONFUSED. SO I CHECKED IT JUST NOW,
AGAIN, AND I WENT TO THE NEW REDESIGNED WEB SITE, THAT'S ABOUT THE UMPTEENth
TIME IN 13 YEARS THAT IT HAS BEEN DESIGNED. BUT WHEN YOU GO TO THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS BEFORE THERE USED TO BE A LINK THAT SAID STATEMENTS OF INTEREST.
IT MAY BE IN THE NEW WEB SITE, BUT IT'S NOT EASILY THERE WHERE IT WAS
BEFORE.

 

AS I SAID, CONGRATULATIONS. I THINK YOU ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING. AND
HOPEFULLY THIS HEIGHTENED STANDARD WILL PUT IT IN A REARVIEW MIRROR AND WILL
FIND THE PROPER BALANCE. BUT IF YOU CAN GET THAT CONFLICTS OF INTEREST LINK
THAT USED TO BE THERE THAT I CAN'T FIND AND OTHER PEOPLE, I THINK I

 

>>STEVE CROCKER: THANK YOU FOR THAT. YEAH, GETTING -- TYING UP THE LOOSE
ENDS,IC, IS A GOOD THING.

 

>>ROD BECKSTROM: MICHAEL, WE'LL LOOK INTO THAT AND FOLLOW UP. THANKS.

 

>>STEVE CROCKER: TAKE IT AWAY.

 

>>MARILYN CADE: I HAVE TO WAIT FOR MY CLOCK.

 

>>STEVE CROCKER: NO. YOU CAN HAVE THAT TIME, TOO.

 

[ LAUGHTER ]

 

>>MARILYN CADE:

MY NAME IS MARILYN CADE. I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT ANOTHER PART OF WHAT I
THINK WE ALL ASCRIBE TO.

 

I THINK WE'RE HERE AT ICANN BECAUSE OUR GOAL, AS ICANN VERY BROADLY, AS A
COMMUNITY, AS A BOARD, AS STAKEHOLDERS, AS PARTICIPANTS, IS TO HAVE AND HAVE
EARNED THE TRUST AND CONFIDENCE OF OURSELVES AND OUR COMMUNITIES.

AND SO SOMETHING THAT WAS NOT HEADLINED HERE IS THE DISCUSSION ABOUT ETHICAL
BEHAVIOR.

 

I WANT TO APPLAUD THE BOARD FOR THE REST OF THE DOCUMENTS THAT ARE ON THE
PAGE AND THAT DESCRIBE -- AND STEVE MADE REFERENCE TO THE CODE OF CONDUCT
FOR THE COMMUNITY.

 

MY MESSAGE TO MY CONSTITUENCY AND TO OTHER EARLIER IN THE WEEK WAS, THIS IS
ABOUT US AS MUCH AS IT'S ABOUT THEM, AND I REALLY WANT US TO EMBRACE THAT
THOUGHT BECAUSE ALL OF US ARE ALSO PUTTING THE ORGANIZATION EITHER AT RISK
OR SUPPORTING THE ORGANIZATION WHEN WE EMBRACE THE HIGHEST ETHICAL BEHAVIOR
AND STANDARDS FOR OURSELVES.

 

THE SECOND THING I'D LIKE TO SAY IS, I'VE ENCOUNTERED SOME DISCUSSIONS THAT,
TO ME, IN THE COMMUNITY HAVE CONFUSED THE ISSUE OF UNDERSTANDING THAT YOU
CAN HAVE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST ABOUT AN ISSUE, BUT YOU ARE STILL A HIGHLY
ETHICAL AND HIGHLY ACCOUNTABLE BOARD MEMBER WITHIN ICANN. AND I THINK THAT'S
AN IMPORTANT POINT FOR ALL OF US TO UNDERSTAND AND EMBRACE.  THANK YOU.

>>STEVE CROCKER: THANK YOU.