Candidate Biographies
- Raymond Jetten
- Maria Häll
- Olena Kushnir
- Dmytro Kohmanyuk
- Harald A. Summa
- Salam Yamout
- Mustafa Ömer Gölgeli
- Fahad AlShirawi
Fahad AlShirawi
Background
After starting up a company in web development while in university, I went on to build the first independent ISP and telecommunications provider in my country (Bahrain). I was also elected to sit on the board of directors of the national internet exchange (BIX) and served there for two terms. From there I had my introduction into the community and I went to my first RIPE meeting in Istanbul, where on a Sunday night I was asked if I would be interested in discussing the status of peering in my region on Monday morning at the plenary session. Apparently, the part of the world I come from has not participated much. I agreed, but I decided then and there that I would do what I could to see more participation and at least knowledge sharing from my part of the world. I also committed to supporting the NCC in its initiative as well as the community in any way I could. That was the driver to the founding of MENOG, which I chaired as well as supported until it was big enough to run itself at which point I stepped down from it. I was also elected to the board of directors of ARISPA and continue to serve as the Bahrain representative. In 2011, I saw a need for more neutral traffic exchange in the Arabian Gulf so I stepped down as CEO of 2Connect, the operator I built, and started GCCIX where in addition to running it as an internet exchange, we developed the first neutral and independent gulf cable system. I later established some non-Internet related assets with SnS Holdings which runs my stock and bond investments (I continue to chair it and manage the tech investment part of those funds but will be stepping down from that role if elected to the RIPE NCC Executive Board). For fun, I invested in various F&B assets in Bahrain and Saudi and have been expanding those footprints.
Motivation
As can be seen from my biography I have various interests and, through pursuing my passion, I have developed a set of skills that I feel can benefit the RIPE NCC NCC Board at this time. My motivation for running is as it has always been to add value and help drive members and community needs and concerns forward while remaining unbiased. The day I feel I can no longer add that value will be the day I step down from the role as I did in 2014.
Mustafa Ömer Gölgeli
Background
M. Ömer Gölgeli is a computer enthusiast from Turkey. Along with a few fellow enthusiasts, he built TR-IX, the first and only working local, non-profit IXP in Turkey, and he has tried to rekindle a NOG spirit in Turkey. He is also involved in LocIX. He enjoys playing around, breaking and trying to fix things. He has no commercial ties to any ISPs, governments, or any company that you might have heard of. In the past, he worked in the private sector with titles such as system administrator and cloud engineer. He currently works for his own company, providing consultancy services to a select few clients.
Motivation
I have no grand plans, fancy words, or hidden agenda. As part of the underrepresented group of small LIRs that don't hold many resources, and as someone who doesn't have any commercial ties to the bigger players in the industry, I'd like to make sure there is someone amongst the ranks of the RIPE to make sure our voice is heard as well. I have been nominated by friends to be the voice of them, and I would like to at least try it out. I definitely do not have as much or relevant experience as the other nominees, but as part of a younger generation, I think we should start somewhere.
Maria Häll
Background
Maria Häll is Master of Science in Computer Science and CEO for SUNET, Swedish University Network - a branch of The Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet).
Maria previously worked at the Government Offices of Sweden (Regeringskansliet) at the division for IT Policy and as political advisor for the IT-minister. Maria has extensive experience of working with ICT, broadband and Internet Policy issues, both in the private and public sectors, on local, national and international levels.
Maria is a member of the NORDUnet Board since 2013. NORDUnet is joint collaboration by the five Nordic National Research and Education Networks.
Maria has been a member of RIPE NCC Executive Board since 2014.
Her previous positions, among others, include chair of the ISOC Swedish Chapter, co-chair for the RIPE Cooperation Working Group and vice chair for the ICANN Government Advisory Committee (GAC).
Motivation
Maria has been engaged with the RIPE community for many years and puts a very high value on the important activities and role of RIPE NCC, its members and the RIPE Community. Especially in these times as the Internet is getting more and more important and engaging more and different sectors and players.
Maria is, therefore, with her passion for technology and long and broad experience, looking forward to continuing to contribute and support the work of the RIPE NCC together with the members and the RIPE Community.
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahall/
Raymond Jetten
Background
Raymond Jetten was born in the Netherlands but made a permanent move to Finland in December 1988. In the Netherlands, his first computer to computer connections were done in school and at home through a BBS in the beginning of the Eighties. Having started out in the ISP industry more than 25 years ago, working for a small ISP, Raymond has since taken on a variety of roles in the field, playing a key role in several mergers, including EUnet.
At present, Raymond works for a Finnish Telecommunications ICT and online service company, Elisa Oyj, where he is mainly involved in IP number management and peering. He has been active in the RIPE community since 2006 and his interests include IPv6 (IPv6 WG Co-Chair), routing and community driven projects. He is also involved in nog.fi events, and as an operator working closely with TREX, a local exchange. He became a RIPE NCC Executive Board member in May 2020 at the start of the Covid pandemic, and has taken the role as treasurer since September 2022.
Motivation
I really would like to continue the work for the Board as Treasurer. Even in these difficult times it is of the highest importance that we listen to our members to make the Internet a safe and workable place for all.
Dmytro Kohmanyuk
Background
Dmytro Kohmanyuk was born in Ukraine and graduated from Kyiv Taras Shevchenko University, Faculty of Cybernetics. He helped organise one of the first-ever commercial ISP in Kyiv and continued working in the industry since 1991. Since then, he has managed operations of the Ukrainian top-level domain, UA.
From 1996-2008 Dmytro worked in the United States for multiple startup companies as part of operations and development support, became a startup consultant, then returned to Ukraine, where he became more focused on Hostmaster, a national domain operator co-founded with partners in 2001. This self-funded company sustained and grew for over twenty years while serving half a million domain names and operating a worldwide anycast network.
Dmytro has an extensive background in operating Internet infrastructure, Internet, and corporate governance. He has participated in RIPE Meetings since 2010 and skipped just a few. He attends other regional events, like SEE, MENOG, and ENOG (where he also served on the Programme Committee).
As an active member Ukrainian Internet community, he helped write the domain registrar policy, made business decisions, and led the operation of the domain registry. In February 2022, within three days of the full-scale military invasion of Russia into Ukraine, his team relocated its central systems to the EU, effectively saving the national domain registry from grave risk (see RIPE 84 meeting materials for details). Dmytro can offer valuable lessons on running a lean team that can achieve results.
His roles in the RIPE community included being elected to Programme Committee (PC) for RIPE meetings for two terms, as well as in RIPE Nominating Committee 2020, and an elected representative of RIPE RIR in NRO NC.
His company, Hostmaster.UA, has sponsored three regional events in Ukraine, and Dmytro has attended and spoken on multiple occasions in the region, including ENOG, SEE, and CENTR meetings. He is frequently at ICANN events.
He has an extensive personal network in Ukraine and other countries. He is a member of the IGF-UA organising committee, as well as the resources governance committee of the Internet Association of Ukraine. He is also co-founder of a non-profit social restaurant, UrbanSpace500.
His priorities outside of work include his kids, charities, volunteering, and sustainable travel.
Motivation
I want to add my experience to the board and ensure we are ready for the next generation of Internet users. My objectives are to help hear the voices of small- and medium-sized businesses and organisations from less-developed nations, improve registry operations and enforce sanctions. During many GMs, I have listened to complains and wishes from our community; now, I want to act on them to their satisfaction.
LinkedIn profile: https://LinkedIn.com/in/kohmanyuk
Olena Kushnir
Background
Olena Kushnir is the founder and CEO of WEB PRO, a telecommunications operator that provides services in the areas of design and construction of optical fibre networks, and in the field of information security.
The company is a member of the RIPE NCC, the Ukrainian Internet Association, and the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. In 2021 WEB PRO received the People’s Choice Country Award Top in the Ukrainian Awards 2021, nomination “Telecommunications”.
Thanks to Olena’s attention to cybersecurity, the company became the first telecommunications operator in Ukraine that signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the National Cyber Security Coordination Center of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine. According to the results of an independent audit of telecommunications operators conducted by the Ukrainian Cyber Alliance, WEB PRO had the least number of detected network vulnerabilities among communications operators providing Internet services through a secure Internet access node.
In 2023, thanks to her experience, active public position, desire to improve and develop the telecommunications industry, attention to cyber security and protection of critical information, Olena was appointed as Adviser to the Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. Olena is a member of the Council for International Cooperation in the Development of Broadband Internet Access Infrastructure and Telecommunications at the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and Head of the Committee of the Internet Association of Ukraine for the management of Internet resources and interaction with international organisations.
Olena proactively contributes to the development of the Ukrainian Internet and ensures its stability within the global Internet infrastructure. To achieve this goal, Olena builds new professional connections, keeps Ukrainian Internet providers up-to-date with developments on the global stage, takes an active part in the RIPE community and promotes the importance of participation in the community processes. Together with the RIPE NCC and the RIPE community, she is looking for solutions to protect Ukrainian members from illegal transfers of IP addresses.
In 2022-2023 Olena was delegated by the Ukrainian Internet Association and took part in the Ukrainian-Lithuanian project “Legal Audiovisual Content”.
In addition to her professional activities, since February 24, 2022, Olena and WEB PRO have been actively engaged in volunteer activities in various areas. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, she has played an important role and now continues to help in the restoration, building, and development of the telecommunications networks of Ukraine that were destroyed by the aggressor state. For significant contribution to the strengthening of Ukrainian statehood, courage, and self-sacrifice, demonstrated in the protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, significant personal contribution to the development of the telecommunications industry, defense of the national interests of the Ukrainian state, conscientious performance of professional duties by decree of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Olena was awarded the State Order of Merit of the III class in 2022.
Motivation
I am keenly interested in serving as a board member for the RIPE NCC. My experience makes me a suitable candidate for this role.
The ongoing war and obliterated infrastructure put Ukrainian telecommunications sector in a difficult situation, leading to the loss of IP resources and negatively affecting our community. I believe that taking proactive measures to prevent a similar situation in other countries is crucial. As a member of the RIPE NCC Executive Board, I intend to promote a more active LIR community in Eastern Europe, thereby strengthening it and safeguarding a sustainable and open global Internet.
Having the knowledge and skills of maintaining Internet infrastructure under the influence of extremely severe destructive conditions, I want to create emergency manual for Internet providers who may find themselves under such circumstances either due to military operations or natural disasters. I am convinced that this will ensure greater stability of the Internet in a global sense.
I strongly believe that my participation on the RIPE NCC board will benefit the organisation. I am determined to advocate for RIPE NCC services and maintain its authoritative role as a Regional Internet Registry.
In conclusion, I look forward to being a part of the RIPE NCC Executive Board and working towards growing a vibrant and robust community.
LinkedIn profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/olena-kushnir-30a644266
Harald A. Summa
Background
Harald A. Summa has been Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DE-CIX, the world's leading Internet Exchange operator, from 1996 until end of August 2022 when he has been appointed to the Super Advisory Board of the DE-CIX Group AG. At its 54 locations in Europe, Africa, North America, the Middle East, India, and Asia, DE-CIX interconnects thousands of network operators (carriers), Internet service providers (ISPs), content providers and enterprise networks from more than 100 countries, and offers peering, cloud, and interconnection services. Harald A. Summa is also the initiator and CEO of the eco Association – the largest Internet industry association in Europe.
He graduated from University of Cologne with a Diploma in Business Administration with a focus on Applied Informatics. For 19 semesters he taught Structured Programming beside his first employments at the Institute of Informatics at University of Cologne. After stations at ICL, a British Computer Manufacturer and XEROX he moved to a software house (infodas) in 1983, became partner and started in 1985 first projects with AI (expert systems). In 1991 he became Consultant, later for his own company, and helped EUNET to leave the academic environment of the Dortmund University and to go to market as a first German ISP in 1992. In 1995 he founded eco - Association of the German Internet Industry. In 1996 he became CEO of DE-CIX gathering the young community of ISPs and working with them to build a technical stable and ever since growing IX. DE-CIX Frankfurt is a critical infrastructure so he had to work with all sorts of compliance and risk management as daily business. He led and had oversight of projects and teams in the area of Internet governance from early public hearings on Internet laws in Germany, setting up an Internet Content Task Force to fight illegal and harmful content and making sure to have good representation in various international fora, such as ICANN, IGF, ISOC and others.
He motivated the technical teams at DE-CIX to implement MANRS and several RFCs at the IETF level. As a co-initiator, Harald A. Summa was involved in the foundation of EURO-ISPA and Euro-IX, whose particular aim is to improve the European Internet infrastructure community with a political and technical footprint. Since 2020, he is Chair of the OMAC (ISOC Organizational Member Advisory Council). He is also an elected member of the Board of Directors of the Gaia-X European Association for Data and Cloud AISBL. His expertise and ability to communicate complex technical matters to political decision makers made him the right candidate as a core member of the Advisory Board for the “Young Digital Economy” of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in Germany and a member of the Advisory Board for the “Digital Economy” in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, “Future Strategies” and Ethic Council for the State of Hessen. Harald A. Summa has been developing DE-CIX from a national IX to a regionally and globally acting interconnection platform. As Chairman of the DE-CIX Board and eco CEO he was responsible for more than 300 people from 34 nationalities.
Since August 2022 he is overlooking the further development of the DE-CIX Group AG from the perspective of a Member of the Supervisory Board. Over the years, Harald has spent hundreds of meetings with the community members in many countries in Europe, Middle-East, the US and other places. DE-CIX hosted some fabulous RIPE Meetings in recent times and it was always a great feeling being part of such an incredible community and development called the Internet.
Motivation
In the coming years, I see dramatic changes coming towards the Internet Industry, especially considering technology, business and politics. Infrastructure is the foundation for all digitalisation globally. We can reduce it to storage, processing and distributing data, all based on IP technologies, but how can we secure these features, how can a self-regulated organisation like RIPE handle the increasing internal and external pressure from industries and governments? For most of the users Internet infrastructure is nothing more than a plug in the wall and everything good or bad is “the Internet”. No distinction is made between the various players and their roles and responsibilities and that constitutes a risk for organisations such as RIPE. Particularly when it comes to infringements of applicable laws, there has been a tendency over the years to move closer and closer to the root and now, not only registries and registrars, but also DNS resolver operators have been required to engage in DNS blocking. It is on us to make sure there is a good understanding of “how the Internet works” and the various players up and down the stack to prevent inappropriate legislation and disproportionate claims for action. More and more governments and corporations are looking for sovereignty on the infrastructure layer. This creates covetousness, which we have to recognise. Policy makers are increasingly suspicious of self-regulation. The global tendencies for more nationalism and autocracies can become a challenge for the infrastructure provider. As CEO of DE-CIX I was working permanently with these challenges over the last 25 years in Europe, USA, Middle-East and India. Working with so many different cultures and communities was always an experience which I would like to bring my expertise to the table. Given the threats I briefly outlined above and knowing how important an open and resilient Internet is for everyone around the globe, I am ready and able to invest substantial time to be part of the RIPE Exec Board and work with the RIPE management. With great respect and joy I‘m looking forward to the upcoming election process and hope to meet with a lot of you during the Open House and the AGM in Rotterdam.
Salam Yamout
Background
Salam Yamout is the Open Connect EMEA Partner Engagement Manager at Netflix based in Amsterdam. Before that, she headed the Middle East Regional Bureau of the Internet Society for three years and was the National ICT Strategy Coordinator at the Office of the Prime Minister of Lebanon for six years. Over her career, she worked with industry leaders such as Cisco Systems, and consulted with International organisations such as the European Union and UNDP.
Overall, she has over twenty years experience working with the private sector, public sector, and civil society in the USA, Lebanon, and now Europe. Salam sat on the board of several non-for-profit organisations. Specifically she served of the Executive Board of RIPE NCC from 2014-2020. Ms. Yamout holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Ecole Supérieure des Affaires (ESA) in Beirut and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arizona.
Motivation
It is heartwarming to see so many nominations to serve the community. From my part, I bring experience, stability, and neutrality. My purpose is for the RIPE NCC to keep providing excellent yet cost efficient registry services. I believe we need to keep things simple and relevant to the needs of the community. Of course, there will be external geo-political challenges that the RIPE NCC must face. And here, I can bring experience and neutrality. I worked with some of the existing Board members in the past and we were able, together, to manage and overcome challenging situations. Only one thing keeps me up at night. Are we including enough new blood into the community? From this perspective, I will be supporting community initiatives around inclusion and diversity. In times of uncertainty, a stable and experienced board is all we need.