ICANN - Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

04/01/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 04/01/2025 16:17

Remembering Nigel HicksonKurtis Lindqvist

Yesterday, we lost a dear friend and a respected member of the global Internet community. Nigel Hickson passed away on 31 March after a long illness. He was an ICANN organization staff member for eight years and was involved in Internet policy development for many decades. He most recently served as Vice Chair of ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee.

Personally, I have known Nigel since the early days of the World Summit on the Information Society and Internet Governance Forum. He was a true force in our community, and he will be sorely missed.

While there will be many opportunities to honor Nigel and his life's work in the coming weeks and months, today, we keep him in our thoughts and extend our sincere condolences to his family.

Authors

Kurtis Lindqvist

President and Chief Executive Officer
Read biography

Kurtis Lindqvist

President and Chief Executive Officer

Kurt Erik "Kurtis" Lindqvist is a seasoned technology executive and business leader who became President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) on 9 December 2024. With more than 30 years of experience in engineering and business development of Internet service providers, Internet Exchange Points, and global network carriers, Lindqvist has dedicated his career to advancing the stability, security, and accessibility of the Internet.

Prior to joining ICANN, Lindqvist served as CEO of the London Internet Exchange (LINX), a leading operator of worldwide interconnection services, from 2019 to 2024. Prior to this, he was CEO of Netnod from 2002 to 2015. Lindqvist also chaired the European Internet Exchange Association (Euro-IX) from 2003 to 2020, which underscores his long-standing leadership in Internet infrastructure organizations.

Lindqvist has been a leading voice in Internet governance (IG) and technical development. He served on the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) and led working groups within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and RIPE, where his efforts helped shape critical Internet standards and policies. Additionally, he has advised the Swedish government on IG, broadband policy, and other key areas, fostering collaboration between public and private sectors.

Lindqvist studied Computer Science at Uppsala University, Sweden, and holds an Executive MBA from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland.