Dear Members of the EPDP Team, As I assume the duties of the Chair of the EPDP team of the second phase of the process, I would like to thank the GNSO Council for placing trust in me and appointing me to perform this important function. I also would like to pay tribute to the EPDP Team for the work accomplished during the first phase and their dedication to a task, which is far from trivial. We have a daunting task ahead, which is exacerbated by the ambiguity surrounding the precise outline of implementation of the GDPR. We will be targeting a moving object as we develop the most effective way forward. It won’t be simple, but extremely interesting from a systemic point of view. I hope that my previous experience in handling diplomatic negotiations in different circles at the UN as well as chairing the ICANN GAC from 2007 to 2010 will be beneficial for the team in advancing our objectives. I have been with the Latvian diplomatic service for the past 27 years holding different positions in bilateral and multilateral settings. From 2000 to 2007, I was Latvian ambassador to the UN in Geneva and in that capacity was chosen to lead the preparations of the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) that culminated with the adoption of the Tunis Agenda, partly devoted to global Internet governance issues. Since then my activities have been linked, directly or indirectly, with ICANN, either chairing the GAC or engaging with ICANN in different UN fora (Internet Governance Forum, WSIS Forum or UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development). At the time of chairing the ICANN GAC, I was involved in the development of the IDN Fast Track policy and opening of the GAC meetings to the ICANN community. I look forward working with the team as well as ICANN supporting staff and rely on team’s collective wisdom and desire to reach a successful outcome. As soon as all members of the team will be announced, we will start our substantive activities. Thank you in advance, Janis Karklins