Rod Beckstrom
Encyclopedia
Rod Beckstrom is an author, high-tech entrepreneur, and CEO and President of ICANN
.
He previously served as Director of the National Cyber Security Center
. Prior to that Beckstrom was Chairman and Chief Catalyst of TWIKI.NET, a company which supports TWiki
, an open source wiki. He was also co-founder, Chairman and CEO of CATS Software Inc., a derivatives and risk management software company which went public on NASDAQ
and later was sold to Misys
PLC.
He is co-author of the best-selling book The Starfish And the Spider
, which lays out a new organizational theory for considering all organizations as existing on a continuum between centralized to decentralized, with different implications and strategies for each firm based upon their position on that axis. In interviews with The Washington Post
and USA Today
, Beckstrom explains how, using the 'Starfish' concept illustrated in The Starfish And the Spider
, the U.S. Government can take a different approach in their dealings with Al-Qaeda
. Mr. Beckstrom is also the formulator of an economic model for valuing networks, Beckstrom's law
, which was presented at BlackHat 2009 and Defcon 2009.
An active participant in the non-profit arena, Beckstrom serves on the board of trustees of Environmental Defense Fund, an organization involved in designing, advocating and implementing environmental policy solutions such as the Kyoto Protocol
and the California Climate Act. He is also a trustee of Jamii Bora Trust, a micro-lending group with 170,000 members, based in Nairobi.
Beckstrom, a pioneer in the field of derivatives trading and firm-wide risk management, was coached by Nobel Laureate Dr. William F. Sharpe
, which resulted in the first book on a new theory, "Value at Risk."
In August 2007, Beckstrom and Peter Thoeny, author of TWiki
co-launched TWIKI.NET, a new Web 2.0
company.
On March 20, 2008, Beckstrom was appointed to run the newly created National Cyber Security Center
, a position requiring "advanced thought leadership in areas like coordination, collaboration and team work in order to best serve the mission".
Rod received his BA with Honors and Distinction and an MBA from Stanford University
, where he served as the Chairman of the Council of Presidents of the Associated Students of Stanford University.
(NCSC) on Friday, March 13, 2009. He has recommended the Deputy Director Mary Ellen Seale as his successor. He stated that a lack of cooperation from the NSA and insufficient funding led to his resignation. He stated that he received $500,000 which funded five weeks of operation. He has stated that he supports a more decentralized approach and opposes the NSA's move to try to "rule over" the NCSC.
resolved to appoint Rod Beckstrom as its CEO and President. At ICANN, he has presided over a number of notable developments, including the July 15, 2010 DNSSEC signing of the DNS root, and the June 20, 2011 opening of the gTLD namespace to additional applicants. He announced his resignation, effective July 1, 2012, on August 16, 2011.
He announced his departure from ICANN in a Twitter message on 17th August 2011.
ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, United States, that was created on September 18, 1998, and incorporated on September 30, 1998 to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly...
.
He previously served as Director of the National Cyber Security Center
National Cyber Security Center
The National Cybersecurity Center is an office within the United States Department of Homeland Security created in March 2008, and is based on the requirements of National Security Presidential Directive 54/Homeland Security Presidential Directive 23 , reporting directly to DHS Secretary Janet...
. Prior to that Beckstrom was Chairman and Chief Catalyst of TWIKI.NET, a company which supports TWiki
TWiki
TWiki is a Perl-based structured wiki application, typically used to run a collaboration platform, knowledge or document management system, a knowledge base, or team portal...
, an open source wiki. He was also co-founder, Chairman and CEO of CATS Software Inc., a derivatives and risk management software company which went public on NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
and later was sold to Misys
Misys
Misys plc is a business that makes and sells software to banking, investment, and, formerly, to medical businesses. The company merged its healthcare information technology division with Allscripts in 2008...
PLC.
He is co-author of the best-selling book The Starfish And the Spider
The Starfish And the Spider
The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations is a 2006 book by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom is an exploration of the implications of the recent rise of decentralized organizations such as Wikipedia, Grokster and YouTube...
, which lays out a new organizational theory for considering all organizations as existing on a continuum between centralized to decentralized, with different implications and strategies for each firm based upon their position on that axis. In interviews with The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
and USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, Beckstrom explains how, using the 'Starfish' concept illustrated in The Starfish And the Spider
The Starfish And the Spider
The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations is a 2006 book by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom is an exploration of the implications of the recent rise of decentralized organizations such as Wikipedia, Grokster and YouTube...
, the U.S. Government can take a different approach in their dealings with Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
. Mr. Beckstrom is also the formulator of an economic model for valuing networks, Beckstrom's law
Beckstrom's law
In economics, Beckstrom's law is a model or theorem formulated by Rod Beckstrom. It purports to answer "the decades old question of 'how valuable is a network.'" According to its creator, it can be used to value any network be it social networks, electronic networks, support groups and even the...
, which was presented at BlackHat 2009 and Defcon 2009.
An active participant in the non-profit arena, Beckstrom serves on the board of trustees of Environmental Defense Fund, an organization involved in designing, advocating and implementing environmental policy solutions such as the Kyoto Protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
and the California Climate Act. He is also a trustee of Jamii Bora Trust, a micro-lending group with 170,000 members, based in Nairobi.
Beckstrom, a pioneer in the field of derivatives trading and firm-wide risk management, was coached by Nobel Laureate Dr. William F. Sharpe
William Forsyth Sharpe
William Forsyth Sharpe is the STANCO 25 Professor of Finance, Emeritus at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences....
, which resulted in the first book on a new theory, "Value at Risk."
In August 2007, Beckstrom and Peter Thoeny, author of TWiki
TWiki
TWiki is a Perl-based structured wiki application, typically used to run a collaboration platform, knowledge or document management system, a knowledge base, or team portal...
co-launched TWIKI.NET, a new Web 2.0
Web 2.0
The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
company.
On March 20, 2008, Beckstrom was appointed to run the newly created National Cyber Security Center
National Cyber Security Center
The National Cybersecurity Center is an office within the United States Department of Homeland Security created in March 2008, and is based on the requirements of National Security Presidential Directive 54/Homeland Security Presidential Directive 23 , reporting directly to DHS Secretary Janet...
, a position requiring "advanced thought leadership in areas like coordination, collaboration and team work in order to best serve the mission".
Rod received his BA with Honors and Distinction and an MBA from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, where he served as the Chairman of the Council of Presidents of the Associated Students of Stanford University.
Resignation from NCSC
On March 5, 2009, less than a year after the position was created, he stated that he would resign as the Director of the National Cyber Security CenterNational Cyber Security Center
The National Cybersecurity Center is an office within the United States Department of Homeland Security created in March 2008, and is based on the requirements of National Security Presidential Directive 54/Homeland Security Presidential Directive 23 , reporting directly to DHS Secretary Janet...
(NCSC) on Friday, March 13, 2009. He has recommended the Deputy Director Mary Ellen Seale as his successor. He stated that a lack of cooperation from the NSA and insufficient funding led to his resignation. He stated that he received $500,000 which funded five weeks of operation. He has stated that he supports a more decentralized approach and opposes the NSA's move to try to "rule over" the NCSC.
Presidency of ICANN
On 25 June 2009, at its 35th meeting in Sydney, Australia, the Board of ICANNICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, United States, that was created on September 18, 1998, and incorporated on September 30, 1998 to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly...
resolved to appoint Rod Beckstrom as its CEO and President. At ICANN, he has presided over a number of notable developments, including the July 15, 2010 DNSSEC signing of the DNS root, and the June 20, 2011 opening of the gTLD namespace to additional applicants. He announced his resignation, effective July 1, 2012, on August 16, 2011.
He announced his departure from ICANN in a Twitter message on 17th August 2011.