ICANN's main man to step down

The president and chief executive officer of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will step down from his post at the end of his term, it was announced in August.

Rod Beckstrom will finish his term at ICANN on July 1, 2012. He has held the position since July 2009.

Beckstrom has overseen the negotiation and signing of the Affirmation of Commitments, a 2009 agreement that moved ICANN’s oversight from one government to the world.

He has also overseen the preparation of ICANN’s new top-level domain programme, which is due to be launched in January 2012.

Steve Crocker, chair of ICANN’s board of directors, said: “The Board of Directors fully supports Beckstrom through the completion of his July 2012 term and is committed to continuing the collaboration that has produced so many benefits for ICANN and for the global Internet.”