Fadi Chehade is new ICANN president

Mr. Fadi Chehade, new ICANN CEO

A 50-year old Egyptian-America, Mr. Fadi Chehadé has taken over the president and chief executive officer of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Mr. Chehade was unveiled at the Prague public meeting of ICANN held last June by the chairman of ICANN board of directors, Dr. Stephen Crocker. Mr. Chehade assume office on July 1, 2012, following the non-renewal of the contract of former president, Mr. Rod Beckstrom.

Chehade’s career has been defined by building consensus and promoting collaborative technologies and practices.

He has more than 25 years of experience in building and leading progressive Internet enterprises, leveraging relationships with senior executives and government officials across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States.

Chehadé, age 50, is a citizen of Egypt, Lebanon, and the United States. He was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to Egyptian parents and left the then war-torn country in 1980 at the age of 18. He speaks fluent Arabic, English, French, and Italian.

Most recently he served as Chief Executive Officer of Vocado LLC, a U.S. firm that is a provider of cloud-based software for the administration of educational institutions.

Prior to Vocado, Chehadé was CEO of CoreObjects Software, Inc., a leader in new product software development services for both large and growing companies. He oversaw the expansion of the company to include more than 400 engineers and its successful acquisition by Symphony Services.

Prior to his role at CoreObjects, Chehadé served as the General Manager of IBM's Global Technology Services in the Middle East and North Africa. Based in Dubai, he led a team across an emerging region experiencing high growth.

He also built and managed a new global business for IBM, providing managed services to large clients in telecommunications, aerospace and retail to improve the accuracy, depth and timeliness of business information visibility across demand and supply chains.

Remmy Nweke
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D

CommTech refutes importation of 490,000 computers

The Ministry of Communications Technology (CommTech) has refuted allegations that the Federal Government imported 490,000 Personal Computers (PC) in anticipation of boosting penetration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the country.

Mrs. Omobola Johnson

Special Adviser to the Minister of Communications Technology, Efem Nkanga, made this rebuttal, saying that Minister, Mrs. Omobola Johnson never spoke with any report on such a project as at Monday, June 19, 2012.

ITRealmsOnline recalls that news reports credited to the New Agency of Nigeria (NAN) had earlier alleged that the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson had informed a reporter with NAN, that the federal government acquired 490,000 PCs, which represents about 70 per cent of the 700,000 computers so far bought by the ministry, for sale to interested Nigerians at subsidised rate.

She reiterated that the news report is false and is “a figment of the imagination of the reporter.”

Maintaining that at no time on Monday (or anytime) did the Minister speak with any reporter on such an issue.

Mrs. Nkanga also noted that one of the Ministry’s primary goals is to create an enabling environment that will ensure that local content in the sector is developed for the benefit of Nigerians.

“To ensure local value added in the sector, the Ministry is in the process of finalising local content guidelines and policy interventions that will create a level playing field for local Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and stimulate demand for the products of indigenous manufacturers,” she said.

Remmy Nweke

ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D