Che-Hoo Cheng

Name: Che-Hoo Cheng
Position: Associate Director (Infrastructure) of IT Services
Organization: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Biographical info: Che-Hoo has accumulated over 14 years of experience and knowledge of Internet infrastructure in Asia Pacific through services on APNIC Executive Council, his regional responsibility in Level 3 Asia and FLAG Telecom Asia, and his active participation in other AP Internet activities such as .ASIA TLD (Top Level Domain) application and APRICOT-APAN 2011 in Hong Kong.

Che-Hoo is regarded as an Internet pioneer in Hong Kong. His 15-year service at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) saw him help establish the first Internet link in Hong Kong (1991); help establish .HK domain name registration service (1993); and establish Hong Kong Internet Exchange (HKIX) (1995). He also helped with the set up and operations of the campus network for the whole university. In 2000, he joined Level 3 as Senior Director, Global IP Services, Asia and was in charge of the IP Line of Business in Asia. After Reach took over Level 3 Asia in 2002, he joined Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation (HKIRC) as CEO. HKIRC is officially in charge of the .HK domain name registration. In January 2003 he started his own business venture. From January 2004, he led the application of .ASIA TLD together with a number of ccTLDs and Asia Pacific regional organizations. The ICANN Board approved the application in Oct 2006 and the launch of .ASIA TLD to the ge neral public occurred in early 2008.

From July 2005 to October 2007, he was FLAG Telecoms Head of IP Business, Asia Pacific. In November 2007, he re-joined CUHK as Associate Director (Infrastructure) of Information Technology Services in charge of network, systems and operations serving the whole university as internal services provider. He is also in charge of the technical operations of HKIX serving over 170 Autonomous Systems around Asia Pacific.

Che-Hoo has held key positions in Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), Hong Kong Internet Service Providers Association (HKISPA), Hong Kong Information Technology Federation (HKITF), DotAsia Organization and Internet Society Hong Kong (ISOC-HK). He was also the main person organizing the very successful APRICOT-APAN 2011 held in Hong Kong which had around 1,200 attendees.

Che-Hoo holds BSc and MSc degrees from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

Motivation for nomination: Che-Hoo is very experienced and knowledgeable in the area of Internet infrastructure. He is very familiar with the Internet industry and community in Asia Pacific through his 14-year service on APNIC EC, his regional responsibility in Level 3 Asia and FLAG Telecom Asia and his active participation in other AP Internet activities such as APNG, APAN and APRICOT, plus his leadership in .ASIA TLD application and DotAsia Board. His continuous services and contribution on APNIC EC will certainly benefit the APNIC community and provide the necessary continuity for APNIC EC. The next few years will be a tough period for APNIC because IPv4 address exhaustion has really arrived but IPv6 deployment has been slow and there is associated politics which is against APNIC's bottom-up policy development approach. Therefore, APNIC needs a veteran like Che-Hoo who knows the history and the politics well to help get past the hurdles ahead and to help stabilize APN IC organization and operations.

Nominated by: Akamai International BV

Nominee's Statement: The coming years will be crucial for not just APNIC but also Internet community as a whole. IPv4 addresses have essentially depleted in our region while IPv6 deployment rate is still not as high as people wish. ISPs still need IPv4 addresses to operate and grow and they have to find alternate ways to fulfill their requirements. There is no quick fix to the problem.

APNIC as a membership organization needs to adapt itself to the ever-changing environment so that APNIC can sustain in long term and at the same time serve the needs of the members and the community well. APNIC needs to have veterans who know Internet operations inside out to help lead its development going forward and face the challenges ahead, while there is already new blood on APNIC EC who can bring in new and fresh ideas.

I have been on APNIC EC for 14 years and I know the history and the development of APNIC very well. I believe I fulfill the needs for APNIC leadership and I hope APNIC members will support me and vote for me so that I can continue to serve the APNIC community and to help build a stronger and healthier APNIC.