Nick has just concluded several years as the senior full-time resident representative for the technology sector to the UN, its member-states, and the international organisations in Geneva. He has been an active part of multilateral policy development since in 1992 with the sustainable development agenda for the world’s cities (HABITAT II), active in the Geneva community for 14 years and a resident of it for the past eight. He’s currently considering his next challenge.

He came to international policy from a private-sector career in both the entertainment and ICT sectors. In the music industry he managed some of the world’s most successful and influential artists including the “Godfather of Soul” James Brown. In the tech sector he went from a Systems Administrator to CIO/CTO in five years and has broad hands-on technology experience.

Prior to his full-time job with the Internet & Digital Ecosystem Alliance he was Geneva Representative of the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Director for At-Large and Senior Director for Participation and Engagement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, Inc. (ICANN) and Executive Director of the International Music Managers Forum (IMMF), the international non-governmental organisation representing the interests of music managers and their clients.

Current Positions and Advisory Roles:
<ul>
<li>Guest Poster, Council on Foreign Relations’ Net Politics</li>
<li>Member, e15Initiative Trade and Innovation Expert Group</li>
<li>Member, Evian Group@IMD Trade Task Force</li>
<li>Member, Board of Directors, MetaBrainz Foundation, the corporate home of MusicBrainz</li>
</ul>
He can be found on Twitter @nashtonhart and Google+ at google.com/+NickAshtonHart

Photo credit: Veni Markovski