Executive Committee (ExCom)
The Executive Committee consists of five officers who manage the Registrar Stakeholder Group (Chair, Vice-Chair of Policy, Vice-Chair of Technical Operations, Secretary, Treasurer). The Executive Committee officers are selected from existing members, who are nominated and seconded by other members. Then a ballot has taken where the majority vote selects the successful candidate. The two-year term for an ExCom officer runs from AGM to AGM, and their duties are specified in the RrSG Charter.
Ashley Heineman
Executive Committee – Chair
Ashley Heineman is Director, Global Policy at GoDaddy, and was first elected as Chair of the Registrar Stakeholder Group in June 2020, then re-elected in 2022 and her term concludes at the AGM 2024.
Owen Smigelski
Executive Committee – Vice Chair, Policy
Owen Smigelski is Head of ICANN Compliance & Relations at Namecheap and was first elected as Vice-Chair, Policy of the Registrar Stakeholder Group in May 2019, then re-elected in 2020 and 2022 and his term concludes at the AGM 2024.
Jothan Frakes
Executive Committee – Vice Chair, Technical Operations
Jothan Frakes was elected as Vice-Chair, Technical Operations of the Registrar Stakeholder Group in June 2020 and he was re-elected in 2022. Jothan also is co-chair of CPH TechOps and RrSG rep to the GNSO Standing Selection Committee (SSC). He’s held a variety of senior executive roles with registries and registrars since first working with domains in 1991. Currently, He is owner/CEO of PLISK.COM, known for his enthusiasm for domain names and our industry, his work on the Public Suffix List (PSL), and for being a co-founder of NamesCon. His term concludes at the AGM 2024
Benny Samuelsen
Executive Committee – Treasurer
Benny Samuelsen is the Domain Expert at NameSRS AB, a Swedish registrar who is part of MissGroup Ltd. He has been working with domains since 1996 and holds board positions on all the Scandinavian registrar associations. Benny was first elected as Treasurer in March 2019, then re-elected in 2020 and 2022 and his term concludes at the AGM 2024.
Eric Rokobauer
Executive Committee – Secretary
Eric Rokobauer is a Senior Corporate Compliance Manager at Newfold Digital, which operates several registrars, including Network Solutions, Domain.com, and PublicDomainRegistry. Eric was first elected as Secretary of the Registrar Stakeholder Group in June 2020, then re-elected in 2022 and his term concludes at the AGM 2024.
ICANN Representatives
The Registrar Stakeholder Group elects three GNSO representatives and one Nominating Committee member.
The GNSO is ICANN’s policy-making body for generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs). It has a bicameral structure, with one house for those parties that have a direct contract with ICANN and the other house for those that do not. The Registrar Stakeholder Group is one of two in the Contracted Parties House. There are also two Stakeholder Groups in the Non-Contracted Parties House. The Registrar Stakeholder Group has three seats on the GNSO Council. These are filled by a representative from one of the five geographic regions: Africa, Asia/Australia/Pacific, Europe, Latin America/ Caribbean, and North America. These representatives are elected to represent the Registrar Stakeholder Group on the GNSO Council. Learn more about the GNSO HERE.
The Nominating Committee (NomCom) member is responsible for selecting individuals to serve in key leadership positions within the ICANN structure. Although the Registrar Stakeholder Group elects a member of the Nominating Committee, that member is not accountable to the Stakeholder Group but IS responsible for adherence to the Bylaws and compliance with the rules and procedures established the NomCom. Learn more about the NomCom HERE.
Gregory DiBiase
GNSO Representative – North America
Gregory DiBiase is the Corporate Counsel at Amazon Registrar and was first elected as the Registrars’ representative to the GNSO Council in December 2019 and then re-elected in 2021, after holding the positions of Co-Chair of the Registrar Stakeholder Group Compliance Sub-Committee. His term concludes in 2023.
Theo Geurts
GNSO Representative – Europe
Theo Geurts is the GRC & Privacy officer at Realtime Register, an independent wholesale registrar. He was elected as the Registrars’ European representative to the GNSO Council in February 2022, then re-elected in June 2022 and his term concludes at the AGM 2024.
Antonia Chu
GNSO Representative – Asia Pacific
Antonia Chu is Head of Senior Compliance Manager at Alibaba and was elected as the Registrars’ Asia Pacific representative to the GNSO Council in July 2021 and her term concludes at the AGM 2023.
Tom Barrett
Nominating Committee Member
Tom Barrett is the President of EnCirca and was elected as the registrars’ representative for the 2024 Nominating Committee after standing in for the second part of the 2023 Nominating Committee term.
Supporting Staff
In addition to the Executive Committee and ICANN Representatives, the Registrar Stakeholder Group has a Secretariat that provides numerous services.
Zoe Bonython
Registrar Stakeholder Group Secretariat
As Secretariat, Zoe works on a variety of projects with the ExCom to support the efforts of the RrSG.