Dear Ondrej, Thank you for this email on ncc-announce and from what I've read in the minutes of the EB, this has become quite a controversial topic within the EB already.. This shows in the minutes where it states : ( https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2023/minutes-165th-exe... <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2023/minutes-165th-executive-board-meeting> point 7.3 )

7.3 EB candidates assessment During EB#163, the Board asked the Managing Director to investigate mechanisms for the assessment of Executive Board candidates before an election. Remco van Mook left the meeting room during the discussion of this item. He requested that it be noted in the minutes that it was inappropriate for the Board to discuss this topic.

I can only guess on the actual reason for Remco to leave the room as this was brought to the table .. Could you express why the board decided to continue to discus the topic with an incomplete board, where putting this on the agenda was clearly upsetting one of the board members ? Was this because of the actual content of the proposal brought to the table by the MD (as he was tasked by preparing the topic as requested ) The topic by itself was requested by the EB, so it shouldn't have been such a controversial topic that an EB member should feel that it couldn't be discussed as is.. and needed to step out. I don't remember reading other EB meeting minutes where an EB member felt the need to step outside ... Was the proposal overreach by the MD, where the feedback / emotions after the investigation, which led to this topic, ( see https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2022/minutes-163rd-exe... <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2022/minutes-163rd-executive-board-meeting> point 13 and 14 ) weight to heavy on the actual deliverable that was put forward to the EB. And if so, why did the EB not corrected the MD on the work or handling, before discussing it further ? From what I see in the email that you send today, the proposal is looking to exclude WG Chairs (active members of the RIPE community) to not run for the EB... While these are some of the most active members of the community. Another suggestion from what I see is to limit the amount of people from the same country.. We've had Falk & CK (German) in the Board, Job, Remco & Raymond ( Dutch ), although Raymond has been living in Finland for years. Or are we talking about where they are residing .. in that case Salam (former EB member and running candidate) is residing in The Netherlands, so is Job & Remco ... Personally I would find it discriminating, if a good candidate would be disqualified, just by its country of origin, because someone in the EB happens to be already from the same country. (by birth or where he/she resides. ) Also removing the pool of WG Chairs is something I would be strongly against ... A lot of current / former board members have been WG Chairs .. They have the faith of the community, they know the community and that is why they get elected for the EB position ... By putting this apparently controversial topic in the EB now forward to the community, my question is, is the EB managing this topic sufficiently and the MD on the work on it .. before requesting a community about an (in my few) flawed proposal ? Regards, Erik Bais On 12/05/2023, 10:44, "ncc-announce on behalf of Ondřej Filip" <ncc-announce-bounces@ripe.net <mailto:ncc-announce-bounces@ripe.net> <mailto:ncc-announce-bounces@ripe.net <mailto:ncc-announce-bounces@ripe.net>> on behalf of exec-board-announce@ripe.net <mailto:exec-board-announce@ripe.net> <mailto:exec-board-announce@ripe.net <mailto:exec-board-announce@ripe.net>>> wrote: Dear all, This week, you will have seen an invitation to join the Executive Board at an Open House on Requirements and Expectations of Board Members and Candidates. I want to provide some context on why we are having this meeting and how your input can help the Board. There are several reasons why we feel that now is the right time to discuss the expectations that the RIPE NCC membership has of its Executive Board members, not least the fact that we are responsible for the good governance of the RIPE NCC. And while the members will always elect the Board, we want to look closely at the formal requirements for Board members to make sure those elected will be able to carry out the role effectively and play their part in the good governance of the RIPE NCC. We recently strengthened the processes around board candidacy by making amendments to the Articles of Association, which were approved by the membership. But we have seen recently in other RIR regions that there have been concerns raised about candidates for executive boards. This has made us pay extra attention to our own processes around board candidacy and membership. The responsibilities of the Board are also much greater now than they were five, ten or 20 years ago. The Board has oversight of an organisation that manages important and valuable resources for 20,000 members. It must deal with highly complex issues such as the impact of war and sanctions on the membership and the Internet, as well as ensure that service delivery is provided effectively and fairly across an incredibly diverse service region. Financial oversight is a big part of our governance, as demonstrated by the recent discussions about the RIPE NCC Charging Scheme. And we are also effectively responsible for the well-being of all the excellent staff who work hard to meet your needs. To add to this, an independent investigation was carried out into allegations of bullying and harassment of a RIPE NCC staff member by a Board member. The investigation found no evidence of a breach of the RIPE NCC Code of Conduct and the Board will respect the findings of that investigation. But this did force us to look at our current structures and ask ourselves how we could handle such a situation should something similar arise again, and whether having new requirements or restrictions in place would help. At our Board meeting in March, we discussed these issues and focused on whether there should be any new requirements, restrictions or expectations for those who sit on the Executive Board. The discussion covered many areas, including whether there should be restrictions on having more than one Board member from the same organisation or country, and whether it’s appropriate for Board members to sit on the boards of other Internet organisations. This discussion is noted in the minutes from our recent board meeting: https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2023/minutes-165th-exe... <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2023/minutes-165th-executive-board-meeting> <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2023/minutes-165th-executive-board-meeting> <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2023/minutes-165th-executive-board-meeting>> Although we had a good discussion on these issues, we did feel it would be better to consult directly with the membership about these topics. Following this discussion, the Board could then propose changes to the Articles of Association affecting the make-up of the Board. Such changes would have to be voted on by the membership. At this stage, what we are looking for is your input and your ideas to help make sure that the Board of the RIPE NCC is set up to effectively represent your interests. So I ask you to please register for the Open House where we will present slides with topics for discussion and then open the floor for members’ input. https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/open-house/ripe-ncc-open-house-req... <https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/open-house/ripe-ncc-open-house-requirements-and-expectations-for-board-members-and-candidates> <https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/open-house/ripe-ncc-open-house-requirements-and-expectations-for-board-members-and-candidates> <https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/open-house/ripe-ncc-open-house-requirements-and-expectations-for-board-members-and-candidates>> Best regards, Ondřej Filip RIPE NCC Executive Board Chair RIPE NCC Executive Board - Functions and Expectations: https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/ripe-ncc-executive-board-funct... <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/ripe-ncc-executive-board-functions-and-expectations> <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/ripe-ncc-executive-board-functions-and-expectations> <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/ripe-ncc-executive-board-functions-and-expectations>> Executive Board Liability: https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/executive-board-liability <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/executive-board-liability> <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/executive-board-liability> <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/executive-board-liability>> Current Call for Executive Board Candidates: https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/gm/meetings/may-2023/announcements... <https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/gm/meetings/may-2023/announcements/call-for-nominations-to-the-ripe-ncc-executive-board> <https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/gm/meetings/may-2023/announcements/call-for-nominations-to-the-ripe-ncc-executive-board> <https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/gm/meetings/may-2023/announcements/call-for-nominations-to-the-ripe-ncc-executive-board>>