Veteran Industry Leader to Lead Technology Vision as .ORG Steward Builds Infrastructure to Enable Mission-Driven Organizations to Succeed and Serve Communities
Reston, VA, October 4, 2021 — Public Interest Registry (PIR) today announced the appointment of Rick Wilhelm as Chief Technology Officer as the company builds out a technology vision and framework that mission-driven organizations can rely upon to serve communities and make the world a better place. Wilhelm’s vast experience, both in the domain industry and technology sectors, will enable the .ORG steward to continue to strengthen its platform for users.
“PIR believes that more and stronger mission-driven organizations strengthen our communities, which is why we are pleased to have someone of Rick’s caliber take on the challenge of building out the technology vision so vital to the success of .ORG and our other mission-based TLDs,” said Jon Nevett, President and CEO of PIR. “We will look to him to guide our efforts as we continually explore innovative ways to improve and secure the infrastructure vital to so many Internet users.”
Wilhelm comes to PIR with an accomplished background in domain name infrastructure, cloud, and software-based platforms and services. Prior to his appointment, Wilhelm served as Verisign’s Vice President of platform management. He also spent over a decade serving in executive positions for Network Solutions and Neustar, where he was the principal architect of the company’s first gTLD registry. He has held leadership positions within the ICANN community, serving for nearly three years as a member of ICANN’s Security and Stability Advisory Committee.
“Hundreds of millions of people around the globe rely on .ORG. It plays a vital role for the world’s leading charitable, mission-driven, and non-profit organizations, making it not only an essential part of the Internet, but society as a whole,” said Wilhelm. “For that reason, serving as PIR’s CTO is a humbling responsibility. I look forward to helping strengthen PIR’s already stellar technology platforms so we remain the gold standard for domain registries and enable organizations around the globe to help, heal, inspire, and serve their communities.”
Wilhelm, who will report to Nevett, assumed his position today.
About Pubic Interest Registry
Public Interest Registry (PIR) is a nonprofit that operates the .ORG top-level domain—one of the world’s largest generic top-level domains with more than 10.5 million domain names registered worldwide. PIR has been a champion for a free and open Internet for more than 15 years with a clear mission to be an exemplary domain name registry, provide a trusted digital identity and help educate those who dedicate themselves to improving our world. PIR was founded by the Internet Society (internetsociety.org) in 2002 and is based in Reston, Virginia, USA.
.ORG is open to everyone, providing a global platform for mission-driven organizations, associations, clubs, businesses and individuals to bring their ideas to life. For more than 30 years, .ORG has built an enduring legacy of trust, preserving an open and secure Internet where diverse communities can establish a trusted online identity and freely share ideas. PIR believes that more mission-driven organizations make our communities a better place.
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Media contact: Scott Gerber, scott@vrge.us, +1 (408) 202-4255