The Public Interest Registry (PIR) today announced the resignation of Edward G. Viltz, effective 31 December 2006. Viltz has been the organization’s president and CEO since February 2003. Effective 1 January 2007, Eva Frölich, chair of the PIR board of directors, will serve as acting CEO until a replacement is named.

Viltz came to PIR with more than 25 years of international executive management and entrepreneurial experience in the information technology marketplace. During his tenure at PIR, the number of .ORG domain names nearly doubled, breaking the 5,000,000 mark in September of this year.

“I’m proud to have been the first president and CEO of PIR,” Viltz said. “In addition to the privilege of driving .ORG’s phenomenal growth over the last four years, PIR has worked to become an exemplary registry, represented the interests of the noncommercial community, expanded the Internet in developing countries and taken steps to ensure security while protecting privacy on the Internet. There is still much more to be done, however; the foundation has been very well established and with the support of a dedicated professional staff, my four year personal objectives for PIR have been attained.”

Eva Frölich has more than 20 years of experience in the telecommunications and Internet industries, including work with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), NIC-SE, the registry for the Swedish top level domain, and the Council of European National Top-Level Domain Registries (CENTR).

“We thank Edward Viltz for his dedication and service to PIR,” Frölich said. “We look forward to building on his efforts as we continue to serve current .ORG registrants worldwide and work to make the Internet more accessible to people around the world.”

PIR has contracted with Kaplan & Associates to manage the search process for a new president and CEO. Interested applicants can send their curriculum vitae to [email protected].