Kaiser, Spitzner to speak on NCSAM 2016

ITRealms:

As the annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) draw nearer in October the chief executive officer of the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), Michael Kaiser and Director, SANS Securing The Human, Lance Spitzner, have been confirmed to speak on the importance of NCSAM 2M016, reports ITRealms.

NCSAM, ITRealms gathered is an initiative of NCSA and the United States (US) Department of Homeland Security to make sure everyone has the resources needed to stay safer, more secure and better able to protect their personal information online.

ITRealms reports that cybersecurity is a shared responsibility, and all individuals and organizations have roles to play in promoting a safer, more secure and more trusted Internet.

A press statement from NCSA made available to ITRealms, they noted that as organizations prepare for NCSAM, both Kaiser and Spitzner would speak on tips for executing various awareness and education campaigns.

ITRealms recalls that Mr. Kaiser joined the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) in 2008 as chief executive, and engages diverse constituencies - business, government and other nonprofit organizations in NCSA's broad public education and outreach efforts to promote a safer, more secure and more trusted Internet.

Kaiser leads NCSA in several major awareness initiatives, including National Cyber Security Awareness Month (October), Data Privacy Day (Jan. 28) and STOP. THINK. CONNECT. the global online safety awareness and education campaign. NCSA builds efforts through public-private partnerships that address cybersecurity and privacy issues for a wide array of target audiences, including individuals, families and the education and business communities. In 2009, Mr. Kaiser was named one of SC Magazine's information security luminaries.

While, Lance Spitzner is the Director, SANS Securing The Human. Lance Spitzner has over 20 years of security experience in cyber threat research, awareness and training. He invented the concept of honeynets, founded the Honeynet Project and published three security books. Lance has worked and consulted in over 25 countries and helped over 350 organizations plan, maintain and measure their security awareness programs.

In addition, Lance is a member of the Board of Directors for the National Cyber Security Alliance, frequent presenter, serial tweeter and works on numerous community security projects. Before working in information security, Mr. Spitzner served as an armor officer in the Army's Rapid Deployment Force and earned his MBA from the University of Illinois.

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

CEO of GE Ethiopia, Yohannes Tilahun, resigns

ITRealms:

The Chief Executive Officer, General Electric Ethopia, Yohannes Tilahun has resigned from his position effective May 1, this year, reports ITRealms.

President  and CEO, GE Africa, Jay Ireland in confirming this development said, “I would like to inform you that Yohannes Tilahun has announced his intent to resign from his position as Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of GE Ethiopia as of May 1st 2016 to pursue other opportunities.”

GE, Ireland said, thank Yohannes for his contributions to support GE’s growth in Ethiopia and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Meanwhile, GE has announced Daniel Hailu, the chief operating officer (COO) Ethiopia will be acting CEO Ethiopia until a replacement is identified. 

ITRealms recalls that Yohannes joined GE from Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC), where he held the role of Senior Director, Strategy.  He has also served as a special advisor to the CEO of the EIC as well as other Government Ministers on numerous issues including priority focus areas for greater economic development through private sector involvement.

Prior to this, he held roles of increasing responsibilities in the US with Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley. Yohannes brought years of experience in designing and successfully executing large multi-stakeholder projects and leading teams to deliver results.

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Kazaure reiterates Galaxy Backbone drive for digital Nigeria

ITRealms:

The Managing Director and Chief executive officer (CEO) of Galaxy Backbone Limited, Mr. Yusuf Kazaure, has reiterated the commitment of the infrastructure company to drive the Nigeria’s digital development, reports ITRealms.

Speaking at the 14^th Innovation Africa Digital (IAD) Summit 2016 which held in Abuja recently, Kazaure said that the determination of the company under his watch is to attain emerging market leader on the African continent.

“We are fully conscious of the need to be in the vanguard of Nigeria’s digital growth especially within the public sector. Over the years, we have made significant investments in human and technological resources based on our vision to be the leading enabler of digital inclusion in Africa” he said.

Kazaure told the audience at the summit that harnessing Africa’s digital growth was a key challenge facing African leaders, both in government and business, hence, there was the need for high-level dialogue that would draw attention to the nature of decisions and actions necessary for the digital transformation of the continent for a better future.

He, therefore, challenged policy makers, regulators, service providers, solutions providers and ICT experts on the continent to leverage the huge investments already made in ICTs to innovate and induce organic growth in Africa.

Kazaure pointed out that Galaxy Backbone Ltd, established in 2006 currently has over 350 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) connected to its 1-GOV.Net in over 4,000 office locations nationwide, thus making it the largest single network ever-developed in the public sector in Africa.

“It is even more noteworthy that Galaxy Backbone’s 1-GOV.NETinitiative – a common network infrastructure platform - was benchmarked on global best practices and the company emerged in the 2013 United Nations Public Service Award as 1^st Place Winner for “Promoting Whole-of-Government Approaches in the Information Age” for its 1-GOV.NET initiative," he said.

Further, he confirmed that the UNPSA award was a validation of Galaxy’s vision to be the leading enabler of digital inclusion in Nigeria and on the continent.

+ITRealms DSA 

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Why we prefer Nigeria to launch Jongla - CEO

ITRealms:

The chief executive officer of the latest in town Instant Messaging, Jongla, Riku Salminen has revealed why they preferred Nigeria to launch the brand in Africa, reports ITRealms.

Salminen explained this in Lagos during the West Africa Mobile Conference 2016, saying that the choice of Nigeria to launch Jongla in Africa was because their investigations showed that many people are frustrated with the current user experience that most of the Instant Messaging (IM) apps offer. 

“We have been able to solve various technical challenges without needing to compromise on functionality,” Salminen said, stressing that Jongla has made instant messaging possible for people who don’t have high-end smartphones and live and work in areas where there is often limited access to mobile broadband. 

Users, Jongla boss said, want something more fun and personal than just basic messaging to connect with friends and family. We believe in a world where everyone can communicate instantly, freely and securely from anywhere and with anyone regardless of where they live, which phone they have and which network they can access.”

The Jongla team, Salminen said, is currently working to add new social and collaborative features to Jongla that will go way beyond traditional messaging.

“The next generation of Jongla, introducing new social features, will be launched by mid-2016,” the CEO disclosed, pointing out that Jongla is already localised to 20 languages and it could be downloaded for free by people living and working across Africa from the App Store, Google Play, Windows Phone Store, and Firefox Marketplace. 

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Omo-Ettu reiterates call for converged regulator

ITRealms:

Telecommunications engineer and Chief Executive Officer of Telecoms Answers Associates (TAA), Mr. Titi Omo-Ettu has reiterated calls for a converged regulator for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, reports ITRealms.

Speaking at the Telecom Industry Advisory Council Inaugural Meeting in Lagos, Mr. Omo-Ettu in a presentation on Communication Technology industry development issues of the moment, drew attention to some important documents which specifically addressed strategic industry development.

He listed some of these documents to include the National ICT Policy of 2013; the National Broadband Plan with a set goal between 2013 and 2018; and guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in ICT, an entrepreneurship blueprint of 2013.

In addition, he listed the Communiqué of the 2016 Communications Sector Retreat in Ibadan, and EVC’s 8-point Agenda for Telecommunication 2016 - 2020.

According to him, outside these five documents, and absence of any critique of them which may suggest either a deviation or additional strengthening should be viable documents to implement in full measure to assure steady development.

He called for the recognition of these documents, especially the top-two documents of communique of Ibadan retreat and EVC’s 8-point agenda, for full implementation.

“It is important to suggest that the implementation of these functions be pushed,” he said.

Omo-Ettu stressed that the ICT Policy already assumes a converged regulator for the communication technology industry, even as the Broadband Roadmap prescribes various inter-relational tasks and functions which diverse sectors of the economy must perform for Nigeria to attain the 2018 target of a five-fold increase in broadband penetration over the 2013 status.

“It is important to suggest that the implementation of these functions be pushed,” Omo-Ettu enjoined.

+ITRealms DSA 

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Breaking News: Bharti Airtel names Ogunsanya CEO, Nigeria, Ghana

Breaking News@ITRealms:

The management of Bharti Airtel in Africa has named Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Airtel operations in Nigeria and Ghana, reports ITRealms.

Airtel also said that with this change, effective April 1, 2016, the Managing Director of Airtel Ghana, Lucy Quist, will now report to Mr. Ogunsanya.

ITRealms gathered that Bharti Airtel recently announced the top level changes for its Africa operations, noting that the new structure would further enhance the level of empowerment and enable faster decision making as well as speed to market.

Also, the latest structure saw to the elevation of Mr. Christian de Faria, who was formerly the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer for Airtel Africa, to the position of Executive Chairman, Airtel Africa.

Christian de Faria, would in this new role continue to support the vision of Airtel Africa and lead all matters relating to legal, regulatory affairs, shareholders as well as Mergers and Acquisitions.

In a related development, Raghunath Mandava, who was the Director – Customer Experience India & South Asia, has now been elevated to Chief Operating Officer, Airtel Africa.

He is expected to relocate to Nairobi and take full responsible for the commercial operations.

Chairman, Bharti Airtel, Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, said “Christian has done an excellent job by streamlining the operations, strengthening the leadership teams across Africa while enhancing the image of Airtel brand across Africa.”

Mr. Bharti said, he believes they have a strong platform to accelerate our journey towards profitability and market leadership and the new cluster based organisation design will provide an enabling environment to the teams.

“The appointment of Raghu will help leverage the platform and sharpen our market focus and strengthen the innovation pipeline. We remain fully committed to Africa and will continue to invest in the growth of our operations. I wish Christian, Raghu and the operating teams the very best for their new roles,” he said.

+ITRealms DSA +Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) +Airtel Nigeria +Airtel Ghana 

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally! 
Pix: Segun Ogunsanya, Airtel CEO for Nigeria, Ghana

Fadi brought tremendous progress to ICANN workplace – Pierre Dandjinou

ITRealms:

The outgoing president and chief executive officer of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), Mr. Fadi Chehade, brought tremendous progress to ICANN’s work place in the last three years, reports ITRealms.
 

This was the position of the Vice President at ICANN for Africa, Mr. Pierre Dandjinou in an exclusive interview with ITRealms, at the weekend.

Reviewing Fadi’s era in ICANN and associated expansion strategy, he said, there have always been concerns on how to improve the lots of the Africa continent participation in ICANN and overall Internet ecosystem.

Dandjinou pointed out that since the implementation of the Africa Strategy commenced in ICANN, the continent has set the bar on a few levels, including being the first region to develop a bottom-up Strategic Plan under ICANN.

This, Dandjinou said, has been emulated by several other regions of the world, declaring, “We have also pioneered a few ideas such as the Domain Name System (DNS( forum.”

He believes Fadi’s support and commitment to ICANN globalization and specifically to Africa, paved the way to the realization of some of the milestones achieved till date.

“Today there is improved ICANN visibility in Africa, which wasn’t there three years ago,” he asserted, emphasizing that moving forward, the continent must build on this foundation for better engagement and participation in ICANN community. 

He, therefore, urged Africans within the ICANN ecosystem to work together so as to build partnerships, precisely while implementing the Africa Strategy for the financial year 2016 through 2010.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms)  +Luna Madi  +Dandjinou Pierre  +ICANNnews 
ITREALMS ... everything news digitally! 
Pix: Pierre Dandjinou, VP ICANN Africa

ICANN names Goran to replace Fadi as CEO

ITRealms:

A Swedish business executive, Mr. Göran Marby is the new chief executive officer of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), reports ITRealms.

Mr Marby will take over from the current President and CEO Fadi Chehadé whose term finishes on March 15, 2016. Marby will join ICANN in May 2016. 

According to the chairman, ICANN Board of Directors, Dr. Stephen Crocker, "I'm delighted to announce Göran as the new head of ICANN," stressing that his leadership experience as a technology CEO and start-up founder as well as his current experience as Director-General of the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority will be invaluable as ICANN moves towards the next chapter in its history.

“We conducted an extensive, global search and Göran impressed us all throughout with his shared values, operational experience and understanding of the Internet ecosystem. I'm looking forward to working with him and what I know will be his substantial contribution to ICANN and to helping ensure a stable, secure and unified global Internet," he said.

Marby is a Swedish citizen, currently living in Stockholm. He and his family will be relocating to Los Angeles, California, the headquarters of ICANN's three global hubs.

Reacting, the new ICANN’s CEO, Mr. Marby said, he was excited to be joining ICANN at the start of a new era for the organization and the community, acknowledging he has a lot of learning to do, but expressed eagerness to work with ICANN multistakeholders community to continue all the good work that ICANN has been doing and am very committed to implementing the community's decisions – both with respect to the IANA Stewardship Transition, but also in the myriad important areas of ICANN policy development as it fulfills its mission.

Meanwhile during this time, ITRealms reports that the President of ICANN's Global Domains, Division, Akram Atallah, will serve as acting CEO.

"I am very grateful to Akram for agreeing to step into this role and providing the continuity and leadership ICANN needs at such an important time," said Dr Crocker.

ITRealms further gathered that Göran Marby has over 20 years of experience in the Internet and technology sectors. Prior to joining PTS he co-founded AppGate Network Security AB a security software company where he served as CEO between 2002 and 2009 with a focus on international customers and operations.

He has held several other leadership roles in the Internet and technology sectors including as CEO of Cygate a network services company, Country Manager for Cisco in Sweden and as CEO of Unisource Business Networks in Sweden.

Marby holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Gothenburg School Economics.

 
Nenye Dom
ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Fadi Chehade to join WEF as senior advisor

ITRealms:

The outgoing President and Chief Executive Officer of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), Fadi Chehadé, will by end of his tenure in March 2016, join the World Economic Forum (WEF), as senior advisor to the Executive Chairman, reports ITRealms.

Confirming this, the Head, Media and Public Engagement at WEF, Fon Mathuros, noted that as the driving force behind the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Internet is a catalyst for economic progress and social development, he they see the Forum’s future of the Internet initiative aimed at helping to strengthen trust in the digital world and to expand concrete cooperation on global challenges and opportunities.

Reacting to his latest migration step, Chehade expressed gratefulness for the opportunity to contribute to the World Economic Forum’s work, by way of advising the Global Challenge Initiative on the Future of the Internet. 

“I am deeply committed to doing everything I can to help ensure a trusted digital world, advancing global economic development and social progress for all. The Forum is uniquely positioned as an enabling platform to coalesce public, private and civic leaders and experts to form networks addressing the many economic and societal issues requiring global cooperation,” he said.

Klaus Schwab, the Founder and Executive Chairman of WEF pointed out that the Internet is a catalyst for the deep transformation of the global economy and society, stressing that the Forum’s work in this area will greatly benefit from Fadi Chehadé’s vision, counsel and drive in its efforts to advance progress through multistakeholder cooperation on some of the practical economic, social and security issues facing the international community.

ITRealms gathered that the Future of the Internet Initiative seeks to help shape the Internet as the trusted driver of human progress, safeguarding its open, globally integrated, highly distributed, and multistakeholder nature. Focused on enabling networks of multistakeholder cooperation, it will actively address economic and societal topics including digital trade, cybercrime and policies facilitating access for all. 

Before joining ICANN as its President and CEO in late 2012, Fadi Chehadé served as IBM’s General Manager for technology services in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. He also built several successful cloud-based companies in California and is expected to assume office on 1 April 2016.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) +ITRealms DSA  

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!