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2021 Non-Executive Director Election Results

Discussion in 'Nominet General Information' started by DJ, Nov 16, 2021.

  1. DJ

    DJ Well-Known Member

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    Dear members

    2021 Non-Executive Director Election Result

    The voting in the Nominet Non-Executive Director elections closed yesterday, 15th November at noon. Thank you to all the candidates for standing, and to all those members who voted.

    We are pleased to announce that members have elected the following two candidates to serve as Non-Executive Directors and we welcome them both to the Nominet Board:

    • Simon Blackler
    • Ashley La Bolle

    Both Simon and Ashley will join the Board at the conclusion of Thursday’s AGM, for three-year terms.


    Having served their respective terms, both James Bladel and David Thornton will step down from their roles as Non-Executive Directors at the conclusion of Thursday’s AGM.

    The results from Civica are now available on the website.

    Nominet AGM – 18th November 2021

    This year we will be using a new virtual platform to host the AGM. Please register to attend in advance.

    Once registered you will then receive an email verification request directly from the platform provider from the following email address: agmaccounts@conveneagm.com. Post registration, members will be able to submit questions via the platform in advance of the AGM, and those joining the AGM will be able to ask questions directly via audio, video or in written format.


    The Chair and Nominet Board look forward to welcoming you to the event.

    Sincerely,

    Rory Kelly

    Company Secretary
     
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  2. Domain Forum

    Acorn Domains Elite Member

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    IWA Meetup
     
  3. DJ

    DJ Well-Known Member

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    Congrats to Simon & Ashley!!
     
  4. DJ

    DJ Well-Known Member

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    Looks like Simon got more first preference votes than the rest put together :)
     
  5. diablo

    diablo Well-Known Member

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    Congratulations to both winning candidates!
     
  6. jasman United Kingdom

    jasman Active Member

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    Congratulations to the winners. What happened about the 5 resolutions?
     
  7. stevelook2 United Kingdom

    stevelook2 Active Member

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    The AGM is on Thursday
     
  8. Ben Thomas

    Ben Thomas Well-Known Member

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    Good. The result we no doubt all wanted. Things will definitely change now.
     
  9. ukbackorder

    ukbackorder Active Member ukbackorder.com
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    I wouldn't bank on it. Even though it's good to see Thornton removed remember this is the NED - they have no actual say in anything. I think the board must be breathing a sigh of relief that people who could have removed them ended up getting appeased with advisory and non-executive roles that are pretty meaningless in the nominet business structure. I would have preferred a second EGM but that ship has sailed.
     
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  10. webber

    webber Active Member

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    They absolutely do!
    It's the UKRAC you might be thinking of. We can say and vote whatever we like, it then goes to the board as advisory only.
     
  11. ukbackorder

    ukbackorder Active Member ukbackorder.com
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    I thought the NED has no vote on anything important. Historically they have just been mouthpieces for nominet. Or were they able to vote against the board on things in the past like hiking domain prices and bringing in unwanted extensions? If so then I stand corrected.
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2021
  12. webber

    webber Active Member

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    Whoever propagated ideas like this or that they can't engage with members, or that they don't represent members on the Board, they were just trying to cover their asses.
    They have an equal vote to everyone else on the Board.
    They are there to make decision in the best interest of the company and the membership.
    Obviously those decision are more policy and strategy oriented rather than nitty-gritty daily matters which are for the execs
     
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  13. ukbackorder

    ukbackorder Active Member ukbackorder.com
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    If this is the case then I apologise - I am wrong. I guess David did a lot of damage with what he said.
     
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  14. webber

    webber Active Member

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    What obviously really matters in the end is the majority on the Board.
    Currently "Public Benefit" (Simon, Ashley and maybe Andy) is significantly outnumbered, so we need two more NEDs with a similarly aligned vision.
    Hopefully Page is voted out tomorrow too and another non-commercially oriented director is appointed.
     
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  15. Siusaidh

    Siusaidh Well-Known Member

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    The overwhelming (one might say 'landslide') victory of the Public Benefit candidates, following on from the similar 'landslide' vote for all 6 Public Benefit supporting candidates in the UKRAC elections, calls out the fantasy that the EGM was actually a reflection of significant remaining support for the old Board and Executive.

    Most of the voters who voted against the EGM resolution have evaporated like mist, in these two last elections. They were basically press-ganged in desperation by a phone campaign by the Nominet leadership.

    Now, minus the phone campaign, we are left with the members who are engaged, who are informed, and it's plain to see that the substantial majority of people who supported the EGM are the people who have elected the 8 Public Benefit candidates in these 2 election landslides.

    Of course, we may now choose to let the water pass under the bridge and move on. It's brilliant that Simon and Ashley have been elected. We must hope they can help Nominet reclaim its core purposes and responsibilities.

    But that EGM vote was pretty much a sham. There was no level playing field. There was inadequate information of both sides of the debate when people got phoned up. Even the voting form itself was 'rigged' with a video of just one side of the argument.

    The EGM in reality was informed and engaged Nominet members calling out a renegade Board and crushing it, even with all their mass phone calls and PR shenanigans, and language of 'ringleaders' and 'troublemakers' and 'a small minority'.

    The 2021 NED election results only go to show that the overwhelming centre of gravity of member opinion is still in favour of the values that the Public Benefit campaigned for, and Andy Green and the emerging new Board need to take that to heart, and not repeat the old mistakes.

    I agree with Rob that NEDs can be sidelined and ignored if the Chair and CEO choose to do so, but given the moral authority (and backing) that Simon and Ashley have behind them, I suggest that would be a very foolish thing to do.

    The sooner the Old Board is completely cleared out the better, and I agree with Rob that a 2nd EGM to that effect would have been a better outcome. However, if Andy Green is wise then he will form an alliance with Simon and Ashley, and carefully appoint supportive new directors in the 'appointed' category. In company realpolitik the Chair and CEO between them can usually push through the programme and agenda they want to pursue. Things don't usually come down to an actual vote. However, it is to be hoped that Simon and Ashley will be different to some preceding NEDs.

    The next year or two will not be plain sailing. There may be trouble ahead over the Expired Domains policy, and the possibility of Governance change. It may be that people will not all like the direction the company takes. Indeed, Simon and Ashley, elected on a wave of support, may find they have to share in difficult decisions that split opinion. We shall see. But they certainly deserve the support and confidence to get to work, and I hope they communicate with members, because too many previous NEDs have got elected and then almost disappeared off the face of the earth.

    At least David Thornton did come and comment here on the Acorn forum, under whatever guises or as himself. Others have sometimes been really disappointing in their silence, in their absence, in the way they supported the actions of the discredited Board, unanimously opposing the efforts of Simon Blackler and the large core of engaged members who agreed with him. Let's recognise it for what it was: the EGM was a crushing victory.

    The loss-making acquisitions, the hopeless alienation of members, the excessive pay... all these things were called out. Nominet had lost its way. Now it needs to find it again. Communication - engagement - listening - responsiveness... all these things will be vital signs.
     
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  16. jasman United Kingdom

    jasman Active Member

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    Now that the membership appears to have gained some significant influence over Nominet, we should push for the voting system to be changed either back to how it used to be or with a lower cap for giant registrars. The EGM was a great victory but it is frightening how easily it could have gone the other way just because of a small number of "establishment" registrars backing Nominet's leadership.

    If we leave the voting system as it is, a year or two or three down the line if Simon and the other main Public Benefit supporters perhaps don't have so much time to commit to the cause, we could easily find ourselves back to Square 1 with Nominet cosying up to a small number of big registrars and walking all over the membership. We need to make sure that going forward that cannot happen. By making the vote fairer and imposing tighter limits on the maximum number of votes per registrar, the Nominet leadership will be prevented from being able to do that and any major changes will have to be backed by the membership at large, as it should be.

    Also the domain price hikes in recent years that were used to fund Nominet's illegitimate and disastrous expansion into other industries now need to be addressed given that it has been acknowledged this was a mistake. There is no excuse for prices to remain at the current level, especially as Nominet has all the additional .uk reg fees coming in now.
     
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