Ethos, AI, and Internet Governance with Fadi Chehadé

Fadi Chehadé, Founder & Managing Partner Ethos Capital LLC, former ICANN CEO & Sr. Advisor to World Economic Forum‘s Executive Chairman, discusses AI, internet governess power, and Ethos on Alan Olsen‘s American Dreams Show.

 

This week on American Dreams, we sit down with Fadi Chehadé as he shares his journey from starting as a church custodian in LA to becoming a global leader in internet governance and digital transformation. Fadi’s story is not just about seizing opportunities in the fast-paced world of technology; it’s about the power of ethical leadership and the importance of shaping our digital future responsibly.

His experiences offer valuable lessons for anyone looking to make a meaningful impact in today’s rapidly evolving landscape.

 

From Immigrant to Innovator

Fadi’s journey from a young immigrant arriving in Los Angeles without speaking English to becoming a leading figure in AI and internet technology is a testament to resilience and determination. He shares how his early struggles paved the way for a career in computer science, eventually leading him to found multiple successful internet companies and serve as the CEO of ICANN.

Fadi’s story highlights the profound impact that perseverance and a willingness to adapt can have on one’s path to innovation and leadership.

 

The Importance of Internet Governance

In his discussion on internet governance, Fadi sheds light on the crucial role he played at ICANN during a time of global scrutiny, particularly in the wake of the Snowden revelations. He shares insights into how his leadership helped safeguard the integrity of the internet, ensuring it remains a unified, global resource.

Fadi’s work in expanding the domain name system and advocating for an inclusive governance model underscores the importance of protecting the internet’s foundational structure, which is vital for its continued growth and accessibility.

 

The Future of AI and Digital Transformation

Fadi delves into the exciting yet complex future of AI, where the opportunities for innovation are immense, but so are the challenges. At Ethos Capital, he is dedicated to helping traditional industries harness the power of AI and other digital tools to enhance their operations and better serve their customers.

Fadi emphasizes the need for ethical responsibility in AI development, calling for a collaborative effort among experts to create the necessary guardrails. His vision for AI is one that not only drives progress but does so with a mindful approach that prioritizes the greater good.

 

A Legacy of Ethical Leadership

Fadi’s vision of leadership goes beyond his own accomplishments, focusing on the importance of the environment and support systems that enable success. He stresses the significance of nurturing an ecosystem that fosters talent and innovation, ensuring that future generations can build upon the foundations laid today. Fadi’s commitment to ethical leadership and creating a positive impact is a powerful reminder of the role we all play in shaping a better future.

 

Conclusion

Fadi Chehadé’s journey is a powerful narrative of resilience, innovation, and ethical leadership. From his humble beginnings as an immigrant to becoming a global leader in internet governance and digital transformation, Fadi’s story is an inspiring testament to the impact one individual can have on shaping the digital world. His insights into the future of AI, the importance of responsible internet governance, and his commitment to ethical business practices offer valuable lessons for us all.

As we navigate the complexities of the digital age, Fadi’s experiences remind us of the importance of balancing innovation with responsibility, ensuring that our advancements serve the greater good. This interview is not just a reflection on Fadi’s achievements but a call to action for each of us to consider how we can contribute to a more connected, ethical, and forward-thinking world.

 

 

Transcript:

Alan Olsen:

Welcome to American Dreams. Today my guest is Fadi Chehadé. Welcome to the show.

 

Fadi Chehadé:

Thank you. Happy to be here.

 

Alan Olsen:

I’m honored to have you as a guest. For our listeners, Fadi, can you give us some background on your life path and how you got to where you are today?

 

Fadi Chehadé:

My parents hail from Egypt. They both left Egypt long before I was born and lived in Ethiopia. My father was a counselor to Haile Selassie, the emperor of Ethiopia, for many years, and then they moved to Lebanon. Lebanon in the 50s and 60s was, as they say, “the Paris of the Middle East.” It was a beautiful place. I was born and grew up in Lebanon. My first language was French, my second language was Arabic, and then I learned Italian.

At 17, as the war raged in Lebanon, I was sent to Los Angeles, the land of opportunity. I didn’t speak a word of English. I landed at LAX and lived in the basement of our church, working as the custodian while learning English and studying philosophy at a community college in Los Angeles.

 

One of my professors told me, “Son, if you want to feed your family, philosophy may not be the right path. You’re good at logic, so why not study this new thing called computers?” Since my English was terrible, he suggested I study programming, where I could work behind a computer. I studied computer science, got a scholarship to NYU, then called Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, New York.

From there, I worked at Bell Labs, an amazing American institution where I learned a lot from my colleagues. They sent me to Stanford to study AI under John McCarthy, the person who invented the term AI. He also advised me that if I wanted to feed my family, I should move to this new thing called the internet. So I did, and I built three internet companies. I sold the first to the Ingram family, the second to IBM, and the third in 2017 to Oracle.

 

In between, I received a call from Washington because of the Edward Snowden revelations, which ultimately led to my role as the head of an institution called ICANN. We’ll talk more about that later. Today, I am the founder and managing partner of a private equity company called Ethos Capital based in Boston, and I’m having a great time with that as well.

 

Alan Olsen:

What a remarkable journey. Coming from a war-torn country, adjusting to a new life, and then becoming a major contributor as technology evolved. I want to jump forward to your involvement in internet governance and what led you to get involved with ICANN.

 

Fadi Chehadé:

Excellent question. It was indeed a departure from my path. You mentioned my journey, but you know, this journey is about more than just me. My wife is a gardener, and I often ask her why some plants thrive in one place but not in another. She always says, “It’s the soil.” I was just lucky that my soil was this great country of opportunities.

So when the call came to lead ICANN, my family and I sat around the dinner table and discussed it. It was a big departure from my career in building software companies, but we all agreed it was time to give back to the soil that helped me become who I am today.

 

So, why did I get into internet governance? I felt it was my duty as a naturalized American to give back to my country. I couldn’t say no when my country, which invented the internet, was under pressure because of the Snowden revelations. The second reason is that I come from a war-torn country and a background as a minority in Egypt. I’ve seen what divisions in society can do, and I’m drawn to things that unite rather than divide.

The internet, despite causing some divisions, is fundamentally something that unites people and humanity. I was very motivated to improve its governance to prevent it from becoming fragmented. When I agreed to run ICANN, the prospect of a broken internet infrastructure was real. In fact, I saw preparations in China to break the root of the internet and create multiple core internets.

 

Alan Olsen:

What does ICANN stand for?

 

Fadi Chehadé:

ICANN stands for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. It’s a mouthful, but names and numbers are critical resources that unite the internet as one network. When you type www.ibm.com on any device anywhere in the world, you always go to the same server in Armonk, New York, thanks to ICANN.

My responsibility was to ensure that those names and numbers remained global and available to everyone in an equitable way, governed properly by governments, businesses, civil society, and, most importantly, the technical community that built the internet.

 

Alan Olsen:

In 2012, you became the head of ICANN. What were some of the key developments during your leadership?

 

Fadi Chehadé:

Three key things happened. First, when I arrived at ICANN, there were only a couple of dozen top-level domains (TLDs), like .com or .info. If you wanted something like .allen, it wouldn’t have been possible. I led the effort to open up the domain name space, and today we have 1,500 TLDs in various languages, including Chinese, Cyrillic, and Arabic characters. We grew and internationalized the domain name space to make room for everyone, which was no simple task.

 

Second, we changed the governance of ICANN to be accepted by all players globally—governments, businesses, civil society, and technical communities—to prevent the internet from fragmenting. I worked closely with leaders like Dilma Rousseff, Angela Merkel, and Premier Li to ensure everyone stayed at the table rather than creating their own separate internets.

 

Third, when I took over, ICANN had fewer than 100 people, mostly based in the U.S. and allied countries. In response to the Snowden backlash, we needed to make ICANN reflect the world. By the time I left, ICANN had nearly 500 people in 35 countries, bringing global perspectives to the heart of internet governance.

 

Alan Olsen:

You became involved with the UN Secretary General’s high-level panel on digital cooperation. Why is global cooperation important for internet governance?

 

Fadi Chehadé:

There are very few resources that are truly transnational, and the internet is one of them. IP numbers don’t recognize borders; they operate above the nation-state model. The internet, like the climate, is a transnational resource shared by the world. Maintaining it this way is crucial.

When the internet became central to geopolitical dialogue after the Snowden event, everyone wanted to influence how it was governed. This was dangerous because overloading the internet with governance could stifle innovation.

 

Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, invited me to speak to the heads of all UN agencies at their annual retreat in New York. The message at the time was about controlling and making the internet safer, but it needed to be approached with caution. I proposed forming the digital cooperation panel, which included key players like Jack Ma, Bill Gates, and Vint Cerf, to ensure we govern the internet in a measured way.

We succeeded in promoting a bottom-up approach, involving all stakeholders rather than enforcing top-down control.

 

Alan Olsen:

Let’s talk about Ethos Capital, the private equity fund you founded. What is your primary focus, and how does it align with current trends in the digital economy?

 

Fadi Chehadé:

My focus is on helping companies in traditional industries use digital tools to better serve their customers, operate more efficiently, and reach new heights. Ethos Capital is about digital transformation. We don’t buy tech companies despite my tech background. Instead, we use technology as a tool to help companies in industries like insurance, financial services, and logistics to become better.

 

Alan Olsen:

Ethos is a bit counterintuitive for a private equity firm. How did you come up with that name?

 

Fadi Chehadé:

It is counterintuitive. We discussed our plans with a professor at Berkeley who runs the Center for Technology and Ethics. When we told her the name, Ethos Capital, she laughed and said we’d have a huge bullseye on our back. But that’s precisely what we wanted. Eric and I, the founders of Ethos, wanted to lead with character, which is what “ethos” means.

In private equity, character is everything. It’s about leaving a place better than you found it, not just making it look good on a spreadsheet. When companies are managed with ethics and character, they turn out to be better companies, serving their customers and communities better. This isn’t a soft goal; it’s a practical one, and we’ve already seen success with this approach.

 

Alan Olsen:

I’d like to discuss cybersecurity. What emerging trends do you see, and how can organizations better prepare for the challenges of digital transformation and data security?

 

Fadi Chehadé:

Cybersecurity is one area where I’m genuinely worried. The capabilities of generative AI are going to be used by both good and bad actors. The question is, who will prevail? The bad guys will use AI to fuel their threats in ways we can’t fully predict. The way we manage and prevent threats is mostly through pattern recognition.

But if those patterns change at the speed of AI, the only way to counter them is with AI itself. The good guys and the bad guys are in a race, and AI amplifies this race by orders of magnitude. I’m currently in discussions to acquire an AI cyber company because I believe it’s

 

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Transcript generated by software and may contain errors.