- Tripti Sinha serves as Chair of the ICANN Board, bringing technical infrastructure expertise and seasoned governance leadership.
- She has taken a proactive stance in addressing election concerns at AFRINIC, advocating for transparency and procedural reform.
A distinguished leader in global internet governance
Tripti Sinha brings a strong technical and leadership background to her role. With a degree in Computer Science from Smith College and advanced training from the University of Maryland, she has overseen major cyberinfrastructure operations—including DNS root services, regional research networks, and advanced computing systems—long before her time at ICANN.
Her appointment to the ICANN Board in October 2018 by the Nominating Committee marked the start of a rapidly advancing career. Reappointed in November 2024, she now chairs the Board’s Executive Committee and is widely praised for her commitment to transparency and consensus-building across multiple stakeholder groups.
Also read: ICANN vs AFRINIC: A fight over election integrity
Also read: ICANN’s hypocrisy: Pretends to defend member rights while interfering in fair elections
A pivotal role in the AFRINIC election controversy
Beyond her routine duties, Tripti Sinha has taken a lead role in addressing AFRINIC’s troubled June 2025 election. ICANN’s letters to the Mauritian court-appointed receiver included her signature and urged full transparency.
Her emphasis covered several integrity concerns—unverified voting records, misuse of proxy powers, and access to membership lists. Most notably, she pushed for a thorough public report explaining how the election process failed and laid out measures to prevent future issues.
Why her intervention matters
As ICANN Board chair, Tripti Sinha is uniquely positioned to signal global standards of registry governance. Her backing of urgent reforms—while calling for accountability—reflects a commitment to the principles of ICANN’s ICP-2 framework.
Some stakeholders see this as external influence superseding local autonomy. However, her critics overlook that ICANN’s concern is rooted in binding compliance obligations under the global internet governance model.
Her leadership ensures ICANN’s credibility
Under Tripti Sinha’s stewardship, ICANN continues to strengthen oversight of the global RIR system. During AFRINIC’s crisis, she aided in stepping up monitoring, reinforcing that regional registries must not only follow policy, but also be capable of demonstrating it clearly and credibly. Her role has helped shift attention back to the health of the registry ecosystem—and not just individual elections.
Upholding global trust in regional governance
Tripti Sinha’s involvement also highlights how regional disputes can ripple across the global internet governance system. As chair of ICANN’s board, she faces the complex task of balancing respect for local processes with the need to uphold consistent standards that preserve trust in internet institutions. Her measured yet firm response to the AFRINIC controversy demonstrates that ICANN takes registry governance seriously and is willing to act when transparency and accountability are at risk. By speaking up, she sends a clear message to all RIRs: procedural integrity is not optional, and public confidence in IP address distribution depends on fair and well-run elections.
