Summary

  • The Board appointed Charles Mok as 2027 NomCom Chair and Ron da Silva as Chair-Elect after a Board Governance Committee recommendation and interviews of a shortlist.
  • ICANN’s bylaws anticipate the Chair-Elect becoming Chair but leave the Board free to appoint someone else. The record does not explain why the 2027 chair is not the prior Chair-Elect.

The handoff is an expectation, not an entitlement

ICANN’s Board appointed Charles Mok as Chair and Ron da Silva as Chair-Elect of the 2027 Nominating Committee (NomCom) at its 5 October special meeting. The resolution, published two days later, says the Board Governance Committee (BGC) reviewed expressions of interest and other candidate material, considered the 2026 NomCom’s evaluation of its leadership, interviewed a shortlist and recommended both names. The Board accepted that recommendation in Resolution 2026.10.05.01.

The previous cycle makes the succession rule visible. In 2025 the Board appointed Thomas Barrett Chair and James Gannon Chair-Elect for 2026. For the next cycle it has named Charles Mok as Chair and Ron da Silva as Chair-Elect. The record does not say whether James Gannon sought another term or why the BGC recommended a different Chair. It would be unsound to infer a failed evaluation, a rejection or a performance problem from the names alone.

Article 8.3(d) of the ICANN Bylaws says the Chair-Elect is anticipated to become Chair when the term ends, while expressly preserving the Board’s discretion to appoint anyone else. The same section lets the Board appoint the Chair for a successive term and leave the Chair-Elect position vacant. Article 8.3(c) runs both roles to the conclusion of the next Annual Meeting.

That makes Chair-Elect a continuity mechanism with a boundary. The 2027 call for expressions of interest says the post was created after an independent NomCom review and is meant to train alongside the Chair. It says the role is not intended as an advisory job. The Bylaws, meanwhile, formally describe the Chair-Elect as a non-voting advisor; both descriptions leave the role without a NomCom vote. The Chair is also non-voting.

The distinction matters because the Chair helps organize a committee that nominates certain ICANN directors and selects people for key leadership roles, but does not hold those choices alone. The BGC Charter assigns it an annual recommendation role; the Board appoints the pair under the Bylaws. An EOI, a recommendation and an appointment are separate steps.

The 2025 resolution confirms the earlier Thomas Barrett–James Gannon pair. The 2026 resolution also says some items remain confidential, without identifying them. Neither silence tells readers why the Board chose Charles Mok, and neither changes the rule: the Chair-Elect is prepared for succession, not promised it.