Dubai If there was ever a chance to make a difference on a global scale, Beirut native Akram Atta Allah believes he may have found it.
Named the new chief operating officer for global non-profit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann), the 48-year-old technical industry executive assumed the helm of the California based organisation in September.
His new job places him at the heart of Icann, the group at the epicentre of the internet which manages domain names and numbers to ensure billions of communications transactions are conducted securely and without interruption daily.
"This is an opportunity for me to make a difference on a very large scale," Atta Allah told Gulf News in an interview. "If we can make the internet available to all walks of life where people can afford it, make it more accessible worldwide in multiple languages and in the third world, that will be my goal."
Icann, for example, recently approved the UAE's application to implement a new top-level domain name in non-Latin script giving the Emirates .emarat in Arabic language for internet users who do not know English.
For Arabic-only speaking users, the entire world has opened up on the internet thanks to the new .emarat domain name, he said.
"This affects people more directly, it will make a big difference," said Atta Allah, who was educated in his formative years through to high school in French and Arabic.
With a firm command of a third language, English, Atta Allah moved from Lebanon at age 18 to pursue his studies at University of Colorado where he earned a Masters in Electrical Engineering.
Atta Allah landed several jobs within the technical realm over the next stages of his career at firms such as Rockwell Semiconductor Systems in California where he worked as Senior Vice President and CoreObjects Software.
After a long tenure in the industry, Atta Allah said he wanted something different, a new direction with more of a humanitarian push to help better society.
Icaan's push to reduce non-English language barriers for emerging economies, including the Arab region, is helping Atta Allah realise his latest goals.
"I would definitely like to bring the internet to the Arabic world, to be more pervasive. The internet is a medium for education, work," he said.
Growing up in the Middle East and studying and living for the latter part of his life in North America has given him an international viewpoint that, "we're all the same, we want to have a comfortable life and provide for our kids."
With Icann's efforts to increase internet access globally, all cultures can "find what we have in common, rather than what differences we have…bringing the internet to the Arabic world will help bridge that gap."
Another goal for Atta Allah in his new role is to help find new efficiencies within Icann.
"What attracted me to Icann is that it keeps the internet unified," he said.
"Nothing is broken in Icann. But it has grown very fast from a small group to a very big enterprise with a $60 million (Dh220.35 million) budget and 100 people positioned around the world. I think there are improvements that can happen. I think we can improve our processes and do more."
