About ICANN’s Ombudsman
Herb Waye was appointed as the third ICANN Ombudsman in July 2016.
Mr. Waye has served as Adjunct Ombudsman for ten years. In 2011, during a period of transition, he served briefly as Interim Ombudsman.
Mr. Waye recently retired from a 33-year career as a police officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and still serves on occasion with its Reservist program.
During several years of his career with the RCMP, Mr. Waye was seconded to Criminal Intelligence Service Canada, where he was the National Intelligence Officer for Cybercrime and Intellectual Property/Trademark Crime. Mr. Waye's career with the RCMP culminated in his role as Leadership Coordinator at National Headquarters – training supervisors and managers in leadership, management and conflict resolution.
Mr. Waye holds a Master of Arts degree in Leadership and Training (MALT) from Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia. His area of specialization was Justice and Public Safety Leadership. Mr. Waye is now a member of the Associate Faculty team at Royal Roads University, where he teaches the final course in the online Bachelor of Justice Program. In this course, students complete their degrees by conducting applied research projects.
Mr. Waye is a member of the International Ombudsman Association and the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman.
Mr. Waye and his wife Christine live on a small hobby farm in Oxford Mills, Canada.
Former ICANN Ombudsmen:
Dr. Frank Fowlie was appointed as the first ICANN Ombudsman in 2004.
A native of Canada, Dr. Fowlie brought 20 years of experience to the position. As an Ombudsman and conflict resolution specialist, he had operated in various agencies of the Canadian government and the United Nations. Dr. Fowlie established the office and set up the operating procedures and the case management system. He worked with the ICANN Board to establish the framework under which the Ombudsman now operates. He was a pioneer in many ways because the ICANN Ombudsman role is unique. It is not an organizational Ombudsman role, but an executive Ombudsman role closer to that of a classical Ombudsman. He put his stamp mark on the office; his study of the operation of the ICANN Ombudsman office and his dissertation on evaluating Ombudsman programs earned him a doctorate at La Trobe University, Melbourne. Dr. Fowlie concluded his term of office in 2011.
Chris LaHatte served as ICANN's second Ombudsman from July 2011 through July 2016.
Mr. LaHatte has been a lawyer for more than 30 years. He qualified at the University of Auckland, and was admitted to the Bar in 1978. He later obtained a Master's degree in Dispute Resolution from Massey University. He has practiced as a barrister in New Zealand and other countries.
Mr. LaHatte has a diverse legal background and has appeared in all levels of courts and tribunals in New Zealand. His cases have been reported in official law reports and he has published many articles in legal journals. He has acted as a lawyer for clients in many mediations, and has also acted as a mediator.
In addition to Internet issues, Mr. LaHatte has a particular interest in construction and building law and is a member of the panel of Construction Adjudicators. He is also on the Panel of Mediators held by the Arbitrators and Mediators Institute of New Zealand, and is a Fellow of the Institute in Mediation and Arbitration. Mr. LaHatte has presented seminars for the New Zealand and Auckland Law Societies, AMINZ and for publishers such as LexisNexis. He is an editor for Brookers District Court Procedure in New Zealand. Mr. LaHatte is also a Costs Assessor and Mediator for the New Zealand Law Society.
Mr. LaHatte is a member of the International Ombudsman Association and an individual member of the International Ombudsman Institute. He has published papers on Ombudsman issues in New Zealand Lawyer and in the International Ombudsman Association Journal.