Identity Ecosystem Steering Group (IDESG) Elects New Leadership For 2013

Online, April 17, 2013 (Newswire.com) - The Identity Ecosystem Steering Group (IDESG) - the private-sector led organization set up to deliver President Obama's "National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace" (NSTIC) - marks a new phase in its development this week as it passes from an interim leadership team to one elected for a first full term under its recently adopted rules.

This handover comes at a critical juncture as the organization sketches out in increasing detail the legal, organizational and operational requirements for sustaining a future "ecosystem" in which multiple competing and cooperating trust frameworks provide greater trust and interoperability for online transactions across the USA.

Bob Blakley of Citi will continue in office as Chair of the organization's plenary meetings and will be joined by Dazza Greenwood from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as plenary Vice-Chair.

Brett McDowell, Senior Manager of Ecosystem Security at PayPal who has served as interim Chair of the organization's Management Council, passes the baton today over to Peter F Brown, an Independent Consultant based in Los Angeles. Jeremy Grant, director of the NSTIC National Program Office at NIST, will continue in office as vice chair of the Management Council. Peter Brown, a British national on long-term leave from the European Parliament, said "I am privileged to be able to work and live in the USA. I feel that the least I can do is offer something in return. Volunteering my experience and time is one such way."

He also thanked Brett and other retiring members of the interim Management Council. "There will always be bumps in the road ahead for an initiative as ambitious as this but Brett has already steered us past some of the bigger obstacles. I want to thank him for his commitment and work in moving us so far."

Peter's election also underlines the international importance of the initiative: "I am not a lone foreign voice in the organization. It has always been the vocation of IDESG to reach out beyond the USA to other countries and regions engaged in similar initiatives and policies. I hope that my election will strengthen the bridge to achieving that."

The IDESG has its next full plenary session May 9-10 in Santa Clara, CA. Top of the agenda will be reports and discussions about the path to creation of an Identity Ecosystem Framework and the transition in the next year to a fully self-funded organization. The agenda will also feature reports from the NSTIC Pilots. There is no cost to attend the plenary; details on registration and agenda are at www.idecosystem.org/MayPlenary.