[gnso-vi-feb10] Standing for Chair -- Statement of Qualifications

["Mike O'Connor" <mike@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Working Group members,

This is my Statement of Qualifications as a candidate for Chair of the working 
group.  Many thanks to Berry Cobb for nominating me.  Sorry this is coming to 
you so close to the initial meeting, but I wanted to wait until the membership 
and mailing list were complete before firing this off.  

Why are you standing for Chair?

I am volunteering for this role because I think I can make a substantial 
contribution to the effort as an experienced project manager who is deeply 
committed to consensus decision-making.  Additionally, I have the time and I 
enjoy this kind of work.  

Can you assume a neutral role, refrain from promoting a specific agenda

I hope, and believe, that I can.  I’ve been following the discussion on 
Vertical Integration for some time, but haven’t yet formed strong opinions on 
either side.  In fact, I find myself agreeing with at least a few points made 
by almost every author on the subject. 

What skills and experience can you draw on to ensure fair treatment of all 
opinions and objectively assist in identifying areas of agreement?

I have been an enthusiastic participant in, and proponent of, consensus 
decision-making processes ever since helping to start several community radio 
stations back in the early ’70’s.  Here is a link to a whimsical description of 
how we ran one station (up to and including the Board of Directors) by 
consensus back then.

                
http://www.haven2.com/index.php/archives/consensus-decision-making-wort-fm-1975

More recently I persuaded my colleagues on the Minnesota Ultra High Speed 
Broadband task force to give consensus decision-making a try – the resulting 
report was the first ever to have unanimous support and was also the first (in 
a series of 8 reports stretching over 20 years) to result in actual legislation 
being passed.

Describe your knowledge of ICANN and its working practices and culture.  
Additionally, please provide a two to three paragraph statement about your 
knowledge of the GNSO community, its structure and operations, and any details 
of your participation therein

I have been active in the ICANN community since the Wellington meeting in the 
spring of 2006.  My primary focus has been participation in the GNSO Business 
Constituency through PDP Working Groups, although I am also a member of the BC 
Credentials Committee and participate in several Advisory Groups that fall 
outside the charter of the GNSO.

Working Groups

·      IRTP – Inter Registrar Transfer Policy (many versions, currently IRTP-B)

·      RAP – Registration Abuse Policies (pre-PDP)

·      PEDNR – Post Expiration Domain Name Recovery

·      FF – Fast Flux

Advisory Groups

·      High Security TLD Verification Program

·      Zone File Access

What is your experience in managing working groups or similar processes?

A significant portion of my working career was spent as a project manager for 
hire while I worked for two international accounting and consulting firms – 
Andersen Consulting and Coopers & Lybrand. 

I have chaired several working groups in the past – a gaggle of the ongoing 
IRTP series and, for a time, the Fast Flux working group.  I resigned as chair 
of that working group for complex reasons. My concerns can be boiled down to a 
series of project scope and project management issues that I don’t believe are 
applicable to the Vertical Integration working group.  Here is a link to a 
reflective note that I published just after resigning for those who are 
interested in a much more extensive discussion of the issues I encountered.

                http://www.haven2.com/FastFluxSomeObservations.pdf

Would you be willing to serve as a co-chair, should that situation arise?

Yes.  In fact I think that the Vertical Integration working group would be well 
served by a leadership team rather than a single Chair and would be happy to 
participate as a member of that team.

Where can we go if we would like to find out more about you?

A good place to start is my ICANNwiki profile:

                http://icannwiki.org/Mike_O%27Connor

Mikey

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