Nominee for President & for Council 2005-07 : Rodney Prescott

Hi, my name, for those that have not had the opportunity to meet me over the years, is Rodney Prescott. I have been involved with IT in New Zealand for over 20 years, and with the Internet for over 10 years. I was on the first council of InternetNZ (ISOCNZ) and more recently re-stood for a position on Council.

I am passionate about the Internet and the need for its ubiquitous nature to be encouraged. I believe that the Internet needs to be maintained as freely available to all, as an uncapturable resource for all of New Zealand, not for control and domination by one interest group. This extends in a global sense to cover the concept of a global Internet community available to the community of nations.

In my current term as a Councillor with InternetNZ, I have been on the Technical Committee, Project Sponsor for the ENUM Project, as well as recently joined the International Affairs Committee as the Technical representative.

I have undertaken several large global projects, the most visible of these being Virtual Spectator, where I was the Technical Director involved with the project, as well as Global banking CRM, which has rolled out with the worlds largest bank, when I was CEO of a Development Company that I moved from London to New Zealand. I am passionate about regional development and the role of the knowledge economy hence the critical role that the Internet plays in the potential growth for New Zealand.

InternetNZ has grown and matured into the task of meeting the objectives that the society has in it’s founding charter. The society has been very successful in dealing with domain names, more recently with government and other professional organisations or interest groups. Huge amounts of effort have been undertaken by member volunteers, both those on council as well as general members, and the secretariat.

The next year has a host of issues and areas that the society will need to be actively involved with. Areas that I see as critical are:-

1. ICANN 06 to be held in Wellington, and the associated issues regarding International Internet operation following the recent statements from the American Government.

2. ENUM the trial and application of ENUM to New Zealand, with many technical, governance and operational issues to be resolved.

3. Broadband in New Zealand, with New Zealand steadily dropping down the ranks in the OECD for broadband usage and service, critical as part of the continued growth of the Internet. This will mean following up on some excellent work that has been undertaken regarding UBS, the NGI and the Digital Strategy with Government, and ensuring InternetNZ and its members opinions are heard, as well as sought out by various parties.

4.Membership, an area that I believe I can assist in broadening our membership, as well as enhancing the rich nature of the existing membership.

I am keenly aware the responsibility the role of President has, and know that I bring a depth of understanding of the technical issues, as well as strategic, operational and governance. I am passionate, articulate and have a wide range of industry contacts, as well as political and governmental contacts, both nationally and internationally and aim to represent InternetNZ effectively. I am committed 150% to the role and will fulfill the role by serving InternetNZ and its members, with a passion and integrity that the role requires.

Note: I wish to note that I was on the Honoraria Committee, which assisted in advising the council the rates of honorarium for Officers of the Council, including the role of President. At the stage I was on the Committee, I recused myself for the discussion regarding the role of Vice President, a role I had intended to stand for. I was persuaded to stand by other society members, and after reflection agreed to stand for President. This decision was not influenced by my involvement in the Honoraria Committee, nor did my discussions in committee reflect anything other than the honorarium for the roles and related responsibilities. My role in the committee was undertaken in good faith. The recommendations that were made by the committee were approved by the full council.

Rodney Prescott
rwprescott@mac.com

Rodney Prescott was nominated by Brendan Murray.