Icann appoints European vice president to engage with stakeholders

Internet oversight body Icann has created a new head of Europe role as it seeks to engage more with its stakeholders in different regions of the world.

French national Thomas Spiller was unveiled at the organisation's 41st public meeting in Singapore on Thursday and will assume the position of Icann vice president of Europe, based out of its Brussels office.

Spiller has previously worked for the French Prime Minister's Office and most recently heading up global policy strategy at analytics software giant SAS.

Icann said Spiller will be well suited to his new role, give that he has also worked on a variety of international policy forums, trade associations and other IT and internet-related organisations.

"This new position is vital for the global expansion and deepening of Icann," said Icann president and chief executive, Rod Beckstrom.

"And we were lucky to find Thomas Spiller, who has a solid track record of performance and a good understanding of the complex issues affecting our community."

The appointment is an interesting move for Icann, given the internet oversight body has in the past been accused of being too US centric and failing to engage fully with all of its stakeholders globally.

Indeed, its close ties to the US Department of Commerce have frequently come under scrutiny and many nations including China have called in the past for the stewardship of the internet to be passed to the United Nations.

Andreas Edler, managing director of web hoster and registrar Hostway UK, welcomed the appointment.

"It is good to see that Icann is finally recognising the needs of Europe's internet users," he told V3.co.uk.

"For too long, decisions that have impacted on the European community have been made on the other side of the world. I hope with the appointment of Thomas Spiller that this is the start of Icann taking a more inclusive approach."