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Rubens Kühl has died
Rubens Kühl, a mainstay of the ICANN community and prolific commentator on the domain name industry, has died tragically young.
According to Brazilian ccTLD registry NIC.br, Rubens died November 3 at the age of 55, survived by his wife and two children.
Rubens was at NIC.br for 16 years, mostly at the registrar arm Registro.br, where he was product marketing manager.
He was a regular presence at ICANN meetings and served on the GNSO Council for a term from 2016.
“Rubens was a kind person, a brilliant technical guy, always open to sharing his extensive knowledge with anyone,” one Brazilian friend wrote on social media. “He will be missed not only here but by the whole Internet community around the world.”
“We will remember Rubens as an exceptional professional and a generous colleague who greatly contributed to our community,” said LACTLD, the regional ccTLD registry association.
ICANNWiki notes that he was known by some as “Mestre dos Magos” or “Dungeon Master”, due to his “vast knowledge, sharpness, and dry humor.”
I really liked Rubens. We only met in person a handful of times but he was by far the most prolific commenter on this blog and I always enjoyed reading what he had to say, even when we disagreed. This is the first time I’ve had to write an obituary with tears in my eyes.
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To quote a motion a passed today by the GNSO, “His work is missed but he is missed more.”
RIP dear Rubens.
Thanks Karen.
Others can find the resolution here: https://lists.icann.org/hyperkitty/list/council@icann.org/thread/EVRHKCBFHZMTKXFCLOIGS2F2TDCISRJR/
Rubens was my boss and the person who hired me to work at NIC.br. Over the course of seven years, we developed a friendship that extended beyond the company, and I’ve had the pleasure of engaging in some very candid conversations with him about a multitude of topics, not just Internet governance. Rubens always sought to verify facts to form an unbiased opinion about any topic under discussion. He could be a great friend or a formidable foe for those on the “other side of the aisle”, but he always focused on getting the best possible outcome for all parties involved. He is sorely missed, and we will do our best to honor his legacy.
He was certainly detail oriented. He used to regularly humiliate me by using his second language to point out my spelling mistakes 🙂