Satish BABU (SOI) has been a programmer, open source activist, development professional and IT entrepreneur, with a career spanning close to forty years. He has been active in global and regional Internet Governance since 2009, and has held leadership positions in the ICANN community such as the ICANN NomCom, and as Chair of APRALO. He is a co-founder of the India School on Internet Governance (inSIG) and the first elected Chair of APSIG. He is a co-founder of InApp Infotech, an IT Services company with offices in India, US and Japan. He is also active in other technical societies including IEEE, IEEE Computer Society and Internet Society. He is a Fellow and past President of the Computer Society of India.

Thomas BARRETT (SOI) is President and Founder of the .PW ccTLD registry and two ICANN-accredited domain name registrars: EnCirca, and Name Share. Tom also serves as Chair of the Blockchain Committee for the International Trademark Association and recently launched Altroots, a brand protection service for blockchain domains.

EnCirca specializes in partnering with top-level domain registry operators, including serving as exclusive registrar for .CPA and .REALTOR, and designing and maintaining the verification platform for the .BANK and .INSURANCE registries. EnCirca also provides registration, custody backup and trademark protection services for blockchain-based domain name projects.

Previously, Tom helped launch ICANN’s first two new gTLDS while at Neustar (.BIZ) and NetNames (.INFO), where he was a founding Board member of Afilias. Tom sold NetNames to NetBenefit, a public company on the London Stock Exchange and served on their Board of Directors.

Even earlier, Tom led the development of the SAEGIS trademark research platform for Thomson-CompuMark (now part of Clarivate), conducted business process re-engineering at Accenture and worked on jet engine factory automation for General Electric and Pratt & Whitney Aircraft. Tom has engineering degrees from MIT and WPI and lives north of Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Edmon has a Bachelor of Applied Science and Master of Engineering from the University of Toronto.

Maureen HILYARD (SOI) – I am very honoured to have been a member of the DotAsia Board of Directors since 2016, except for a year break in 2021 before being re-elected to a new term along with a great team. 2024 was an exciting year where I embarked on my first year, after 10 years of representational service on behalf of APRALO, to now free of any regular commitment to the At-Large Advisory Committee of ICANN. But what I did take on, in its place, was a position of Director on the Board of the Internet Society, having been elected by the majority of ISOC Chapters in the world (many of whom are members of the At-Large community).  Having been the ALAC Chair for four years obviously helped to raise my profile within our ISOC Community. But I am pleased that DotAsia also supports ISOC’s efforts to strengthen not only our world of internet governance, but also its support of technical infrastructure projects across the Asia-Pacific region, so that the internet reaches everyone.

Having now spent several years on the Board’s Community Projects Committee, and now as its Chair, I am also proud that the Board supports and encourages DotAsia’s high profile leadership and community support of the global and other regional levels of IGF involvement, including the Pacific IGF. The DotAsia Team acknowledges its community involvements within its strategic plan that supports youth, environmental issues as well as support for internet governance engagement by the communities of our member organisations. I am very honoured to serve on the Board along with my esteemed colleagues with whom I share the IG concerns and interests of both the Internet Society (ISOC) and the domain name issues and concerns of the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Boyoung joined KISA in 2012 and since then has been involved in developing both domestic and international policy for domain name and Internet governance.

She has been participating in ICANN as a GAC and ccNSO representative since 2012, which gave her sufficient knowledge on policy such as IANA transition(experienced IG structure development period), new gTLD policy, WHOIS/RDRS, RZ-LGR, etc. She shares her experience with local community to help them get involved in global policy development process.

Also, she has been involved in several Internet Governance activities for the local and regional community. She hosted KrIGF for several years, APIGA(Asia Pacific Internet Governance Academy) since 2016, lead youth development projects such as IG curriculum, youth group, etc.

Since she joined the APTLD as a board of director since 2021, tries to contribute to the AP community with her experience.

Jose LAY (SOI) is a professional with extensive experience in the field of telecommunications and internet governance. Holding a B.Eng. from Gadjah Mada University and a Ph.D. in Electrical and Information Engineering from Sydney University, Jose has a passionate commitment to advancing the development of the telecommunications sector in small economies.

One of Jose’s notable contributions is his role in the establishment of the National Communications Authority of Timor-Leste, the telecom regulator of the country. In addition to its regulatory responsibilities, this authority also manages .tl. Jose currently holds the position of Principal Advisor within the organization, where he works with the Board to shape a favorable telecommunications landscape for Timor-Leste’s development.
On internet governance, Jose has been actively engaged in the ongoing discussions at both ICANN and ITU. Within ICANN, he has been a participant in GAC meetings, serving as the representative of the Government of Timor-Leste since ICANN50.

Jose Lay’s unique blend of firsthand experience in confronting the developmental hurdles of a small nation, coupled with his extensive engagement in the fields of telecommunications and internet governance, makes him a valuable asset poised to make a meaningful contribution to the DotAsia Board.

Akinori MAEMURA (SOI) (前村 昌紀) is Chief Policy Officer of JPNIC – Japan Network Information Center, a not-for-profit Internet promotion body and National Internet Registry for Japan.

Maemura has more than 25 years of career and experience in the Internet technical operations and coordination. He started the Internet career at NEC Corporation, Japan, to launch its ISP business, which is now known as BIGLOBE, as a network engineer in 1994. After that he got involved in the Internet Coordination among ISPs and associations, as the commercial Internet is emerging in Japan, including the establishment of JANOG, the Network Operators’ Group of Japan, and IP address management at JPNIC – Japan Network Information Center. Then his involvement expanded to the region when he was first elected to the Executive Council of APNIC, Asia Pacific Network Information Centre, one of five Regional Internet Registries which administer the Internet number space for respective regions in 2000. He served as an EC member for 16 years, especially as the Chair of it for 13 years until February 2016. After that, he was elected to the Board of Directors of ICANN – Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers as an appointee of its ASO, Address Supporting Organization. He served as an ICANN Board Member for two terms, six years until 2022.

As the Chief Policy Officer of JPNIC, Maemura presides JPNIC’s consideration, coordination and communication of the Internet Policies as well as its external and international relations.

He also serves as a Board Director at JPCERT Coordination Center, the national computer incident response team in Japan, and for Number Resourse Organization’s Number Council (NRO NC).

Rupesh SHRESTHA (SOI) Chair of South Asian Network Operators Group (SANOG) and also CEO and board of Directors of Internet Exchange Nepal (NPIX). He has been in the Internet Industry for more than 25 years starting as a system administrator in an ISP. Rupesh has worked in leadership roles in various organizations with his experience in management, finance and technology in Nepal and Philippines. His leadership in SANOG has helped establish SANOG CERT and has assisted in setting up local NOGs in several south Asian countries. He has also been contributing in various roles in APRICOT, APNIC and other community engagements. Rupesh was also founding co-chair of Routing Security SIG of APNIC and currently Fellowship Co-chair of APRICOT. Rupesh served as the host steering committee member for APrIGF 2021. He is also on the advisory committee of DotAsia. He has been a speaker, panelist, and moderator in several domestic and regional conferences.

Rupesh has served and contributed his knowledge and experience in several committees including National Steering Committee of IT in Nepal, Computer Association of Nepal, IT committee of Confederation of Nepalese Industries etc. He has been an influential contributor in the South Asia and Asia Pacific region in Technical Skill improvement, community engagements, Network resiliency advocacy and sharing experiences for policies and governance.

Rupesh has Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Indian Universities.

Jo-Fan YU (SOI) is the Managing Director and CEO of TWNIC. She is active in local internet communities and regularly gives speeches and joins discussions on digital and internet issues. She is also the Director of TWIGF.

Before joining TWNIC, Jo-Fan was the Supervisor of TWNIC. Jo-Fan was also a partner in the global law firm Baker McKenzie and focused on Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Practice. She also worked in Google as its Head of Public Policy and Government Relation for Taiwan and Hong Kong. She constantly advocated for sound digital and internet public policies through acting as the advisor to government, as the Supervisor of AmCham, and as the Chairwoman of Taipei Bar Association. She has an extensive experience especially in data protection, consumer protection, content regulation, antitrust,telco regulation, cybercrimes, IP-related issues, and corporate governance.

Please see more details at her LinkedIn Profile.