Summary

  • ICANN’s Board appointed Charles Mok as 2027 Nominating Committee Chair and Ron da Silva as Chair-Elect after a Board Governance Committee review, shortlist interviews and a recommendation to the full Board.
  • The Chair and Chair-Elect are non-voting roles. The 18 voting delegates make the committee’s selections, while the Board retains discretion over the later Chair appointment.

The most consequential detail in ICANN’s 12 October announcement is the division of authority behind a familiar title. Charles Mok will chair the 2027 Nominating Committee (NomCom), and Ron da Silva will serve as Chair-Elect. The appointments place two people at the front of a process that will select candidates for several ICANN leadership bodies. They do not make either chair the committee’s electorate, and the title “Chair-Elect” does not itself guarantee a future chairmanship.

The Board adopted the appointments on 5 October, in Resolution 2026.10.05.01. The Board Governance Committee (BGC) reviewed Expressions of Interest and other candidate material, considered NomCom members’ evaluation of the 2026 leadership, interviewed a shortlist and recommended both nominees. ICANN had opened a public call for Expressions of Interest on 8 May, with submissions due by 29 May. The call said applications would be confidential. The resolution provides a high-level account of the process while retaining specific items as confidential under the bylaws.

That path matters because selecting the committee’s convenor and selecting its eventual nominees are separate decisions. Article 8 of ICANN’s bylaws makes the Chair and Chair-Elect non-voting members appointed by the Board.

The NomCom itself has 18 voting delegates: one each selected by the Address Supporting Organization, the Country Code Names Supporting Organization, the Governmental Advisory Committee, the Security and Stability Advisory Committee, the Root Server System Advisory Committee and the Internet Engineering Task Force; five selected by the At-Large Advisory Committee; and seven drawn from Generic Names Supporting Organization constituencies.

The committee’s 2027 cycle is expected to select three ICANN Board members, three At-Large Advisory Committee members, two Generic Names Supporting Organization Council members and one Country Code Names Supporting Organization Council member. Community input can inform the process, but the NomCom’s 4 September invitation says the committee has sole discretion over whether to incorporate submissions. It asked for input on skills and qualities for the cycle and set 15 October as the submission deadline. Neither a public call for comment nor a broad delegate roster turns those inputs into a vote on candidates.

The Chair has significant procedural responsibilities. ICANN’s May position description assigns the Chair work such as organizing meetings, managing the candidate identification process, coordinating due diligence, ensuring operating procedures are followed and preparing reports. The Chair-Elect is designed to learn alongside the Chair. The current public record does not say how many people submitted EOIs, how many were interviewed or how the two finalists compared. Because the application call promised confidentiality, that absence is not evidence that the process was improper.

It does limit what outsiders can independently assess about the candidate pool.

There is a second qualification in the bylaws. Section 8.3(d) says the Chair-Elect is anticipated to become Chair when the term ends, but the Board retains discretion to appoint another person. The Board may also leave the Chair-Elect position vacant if it appoints the current Chair for a successive term. The role therefore supplies a training and continuity path, not a contractual succession right. The October announcement identifies the next Chair-Elect, but it cannot settle the next appointment in advance.

This distinction fits the caution in Heng Lu Note 73: participation and affected interests do not by themselves establish authority to bind others. The Note is an editorial lens, not evidence about the appointment. Here, the formal authority is visible in the bylaws: the Board appoints the Chair and Chair-Elect; a multi-constituency voting body conducts NomCom selections; and community submissions may be considered at the committee’s discretion. Each role has a different scope.

The useful test is consequently procedural. Can readers see the rules, the public-facing rationale and the eventual result without exposing applicants’ confidential material? Does the NomCom publish its operating procedures and later explain how the selection cycle followed them? Does a future Board decision preserve or alter the expected Chair succession? Those questions help evaluate accountability without implying that attendance, consultation or an appointment alone constitutes a global mandate.

Sources