Another controversial VP leaves ICANN

Kevin Murphy, September 5, 2012, 19:47:00 (UTC), Domain Policy

It’s house-cleaning time at ICANN, it seems.

Elad Levinson, controversially hired 18 months ago as vice president of “organizational effectiveness” has been terminated, we’ve learned.

Levinson, who started in May 2010 as a consultant before going full-time as a VP, was tasked with sorting out some of the internal problems at ICANN.

But his hiring was not warmly welcomed by many in the ICANN community (or, we hear, staff), coming at a time when other more mission-critical positions were still vacant.

As former CEO Rod Beckstrom’s most controversial hire — Levinson’s previous ventures made him look like a bit of a hippy with a penchant for psychobabble — his departure is not unexpected.

It follows the resignation of communications VP Barbara Ann Clay, which we reported yesterday.

The rumor mill has it that Clay and Levinson are not the only ICANN executives to face the chop this week, but they’re the only names we’ve been able to confirm so far.

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