[ICANN]<http://www.icann.org/> News Alert https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2015-02-04-en ________________________________ Adiel Akplogan to Join ICANN as VP of Technical Engagement Role aimed at strengthening ties to the technical community 4 February 2015 Veteran Internet technology expert Adiel Akplogan is joining ICANN in the newly created role of Vice President for Technical Engagement. Akplogan served most recently as the Chief Executive Officer of AfriNIC, the Internet Numbers' Resource Registry for Africa, a position he has held since 2004. "I'm delighted to welcome Adiel to ICANN," said Sally Costerton, Special Advisor to the President for Global Stakeholder Engagement. "He is a highly respected contributor to the Internet community and his experienced leadership will reinforce and deepen ICANN's long term participation in the technical community of which it is a critical part." Akplogan is among the original Internet pioneers in West Africa, where he has played a critical role in setting up and managing CAFENet, one of the first private Internet Service Providers in the region. "It's my sincere hope that I can help ICANN achieve the high level of operational excellence that it is aiming for," said Adiel. "We are all striving to maintain and improve a global communication and information system that will define our future on multiple levels." In his new position, Akplogan will help ICANN conduct technical engagement and outreach. He will also provide some valuable links to the ICT community on the African continent, since he was instrumental in establishing several technical coordination bodies such as the African Network Operators Group (AfNOG), the African ccTLD Managers Association (AfTLD), AfricaCERT and the Africa Internet Summit (AIS). Akplogan will be based in Montreal, Canada and will assume his new position on March 1. To download a high-resolution photo of Adiel Akoplogan, go here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/icann/16440900351/