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Did Chehade really quit ICANN for this?
ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade will become a senior adviser with a private equity firm after he leaves ICANN next March.
He blogged today that he will take the role with Boston-based ABRY Partners and “provide guidance to ABRY’s partners and their companies’ leaders on digital strategy”.
Chehade, back in June, had described the ICANN CEO role as a “better job that I’ve ever had, or will ever have”.
He had years left on his contract.
My first thought is: really? This is the gig you quit ICANN for?
I’m drawn down the path of thinking that rather than finding the job of his dreams elsewhere, the dude is just suffering from ICANN burnout.
Chehade suggests in his post that ABRY is not a full-time job, writing: “I expect to add other roles to my portfolio and will update you all as appropriate.”
ABRY, at first glance, does not appear to have any significant connection to the domain name industry or to ICANN itself.
If the check is bigger at ABRY, why not.
Consider also the option of NetMundial burnout…
“Step down to spend more time with family” is often thrown out as a euphemism, but in this case perhaps it might actually be true.
It’s amazing that the first thing that any reasonable person would suspect, which has to deal with U.S. Delay in Giving Up Oversight of Internet Administrator ICANN, doesn’t even cross your mind.
We don’t know if it played a roll, but to completely be oblivious to it in this circumstance, Murphy, is incredible.
BTW: this is a good time to say “I told you so”. (If there’s a chance you’d recall the debate on your own, I’ll sit back and have you do it).
roll = role
Everything in ICANN takes years longer than expected so the transition delay isn’t the reason.
Fadi has lost a lot of weight in the last year, and he really does look burnt out. I’m with James on this one.
Its a pity though. I thought Fadi was doing a decent job by ICANN’s nut ward standards.
Katie , James I totally agree. Surely Fadi ‘s role needs to be split – one focusing on the final closure / completion / operations of Round 1 gTLD programme , starting Round 2 , the other on the IANA transition / implementation of much needed accountablility / transparency mechanisms.
Good idea. Or perhaps divide the job along the lines of “running the day-to-day at ICANN” vs. “lead & represent the multi-stakeholder community.”