Alban Kwan
Nominee details
- Title
- Mr.
- Name
- Alban Kwan
- Position
- Founder and CEO
- Organization
- Trusted Notifier Network
Biographical info
- Education/qualifications
-
I hold a Master of Management and a Bachelor of Commerce, both from Monash University in Melbourne. My formal training is not in law or Internet governance specifically, but in business administration — and I think that has shaped how I approach cooperation work: less from a policy-theory angle, more from a practical standpoint of aligning incentives, structuring partnerships, and getting different organisations to work productively together. Most of my domain-specific knowledge has come through 18 years working across brand protection, domain management, and ICANN policy engagement in China, Japan, Korea, and the wider APAC region, plus my continued involvement with APNIC, AP*, APrIGF, and auIGF. I see that combination — a business foundation paired with hands-on Internet governance experience — as a practical asset for this role, rather than a substitute for either on its own.
- Experience and involvement in APNIC activities
-
Since attending my first APNIC meeting, APNIC 58 in Wellington, I have stayed engaged with the community — participating in open forums, offering comments where relevant, and more recently contributing to the Policy SIG through a PDP proposal, which gave me firsthand exposure to how APNIC's policy process works.
Through my involvement in the ICANN community, I have also worked for many years alongside key APNIC members and NIRs active in the domain name space.
My more active cooperation work has been through co-chairing AP*, where I plan its bi-annual meeting and facilitate cooperation between Asia Pacific Internet organisations — engaging directly with a wide range of groups, understanding their needs, and moderating discussion on issues that require cross-organisation cooperation. I hold similar roles with APrIGF and auIGF, as co-chair and members of serveral working groups, and I mentor at regional and local APIGA programmes, helping students understand how ICANN, ISOC, APNIC, and other Internet governance processes work in practice.
While this nomination would be my first formal role within APNIC itself, my involvement with the wider community — through these roles — has been continuous rather than incidental.
Nominee statement
It is an honour to put my own name forward for the role of Cooperation SIG Co-Chair.
For close to eighteen years, my work has sat at the intersection of different parts of the Internet community — from ICANN, telcos, and hosting providers to, more recently, co-chairing AP*, where I help plan its bi-annual meeting and bring Asia Pacific Internet organisations to the same table to work through issues no single organisation can resolve alone. I hold similar roles with APrIGF and auIGF, and I have spent that same time mentoring newcomers through APIGA — work that has taught me that cooperation is less about reaching agreement and more about making sure the right people are actually talking to each other.
The Cooperation SIG sits at exactly this intersection for APNIC. As Co-Chair, I would want to make sure APNIC hears from — and is genuinely part of — more of the organisations shaping the region's Internet, rather than encountering their work after the fact.
I would be grateful for the community's support.
Nominated by
- Full Name
- Alban Kwan
- Reason for nomination
-
I am nominating myself for Cooperation SIG Co-Chair on the strength of a track record in exactly the kind of work this SIG is chartered to do. I currently co-chair AP*, planning its bi-annual meeting and directly facilitating cooperation between Asia Pacific Internet organisations. I hold co-chair and working group roles with APrIGF and auIGF, giving me direct experience in the public policy and Internet governance forums this SIG engages with. I have also worked for many years alongside key APNIC members and NIRs through the ICANN community, and I mentor regularly at regional and local APIGA programmes — the kind of capacity-building work the SIG charter names explicitly. I believe this combination of hands-on cooperation experience and sustained community involvement makes me well placed to serve in this role.