The Public Interest Registry (PIR) is pleased to announce the appointment of Alexa A. S. Raad, an entrepreneurial technology executive, as its new CEO. The appointment is effective July 9, 2007.

Ms. Raad brings more than 20 years of experience from the telecommunications, payment, and Internet sectors. As chief marketing officer at dotMobi, an Ireland-based joint venture company, she was instrumental in the start-up of the company and in making .mobi one of the most successful TLD launches. Ms. Raad had direct responsibility for major functional areas of the company, including marketing and public relations, channel sales, product development and rollout, and policy.

Prior to her tenure at dotMobi, Ms. Raad was a senior business development manager at VeriSign in Dulles, Virginia, where she developed new markets and channels for RFID and supply chain and logistics-related technologies as well as for Internationalized Domain Names.

“This is an exciting and important development for PIR,” said board chair Susan Estrada. “Alexa is an inspiring and accomplished professional who is well-equipped to take the organization to its next level. She is determined to make sure that the organization continues ­- and even exceeds ­- its ability to ‘do good’ within the domain name business. We believe her passion, along with her unique business savvy, will make it possible for PIR to increase the registry business and ensure continued funding of the Internet Society. We are thrilled to welcome Alexa to our staff and look forward to her leadership.”

Ms. Raad, who is a frequent speaker on technology and marketing issues, has a Master degree in business administration and a Master degree in information systems from George Washington University. She speaks Farsi, German, French, and Italian.