Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union
Assumed office
1 January 2023
DeputyTomas Lamanauskas
Secretary GeneralAntónio Guterres
Preceded byHoulin Zhao
Personal details
Born1966 (age 57–58)
Monmouth County, New Jersey, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Delaware (BA)
American University (MA)

Doreen Bogdan-Martin (born 1966) is an American diplomat and engineer, current Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union. She was elected at the 2022 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Bucharest, and as the first woman in the 157-year history of the ITU to become the Secretary-General. Previously, she was the first woman to become an Elected Official of the ITU, as the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau of the ITU (the Secretariat of ITU-D).

Education and early Career

Born in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Bogdan-Martin graduated from American University with a Master's degree in International Communications Policy,[1] and with a Bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware. She holds a post-graduate certification in Strategies for Leadership from the Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, and is certified in Accountability and Ethics by the United Nations Leaders Programme.[2]

Bogdan-Martin began her career as a Telecom specialist at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, US Department of Commerce in 1989.

International Telecommunication Union Career

Bogdan-Martin (left) with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in 2022

In 1994, Bogdan-Martin joined the International Telecommunication Union's Telecommunication Development Bureau as a Policy analyst. She was instrumental in the creation of the Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR [1]), the only global gathering for the world's ICT regulators; as well as the ICT Regulatory collection tool and portal (ICT-Eye [2]).

In 2003, she became head of the Regulatory Reform Unit, leading the Regulatory Reform Programme and co-authoring the annual "Trends in Telecommunication Reform" report from 2003 through 2007. In 2005, she became head of the Regulatory and Market Environment Division, managing programmes on regulatory reform, economics, and finance and advising governments on ICT reform and policy issues. In January 2008, Bogdan-Martin became Chief of the Strategic Planning and Membership department, the senior most position in the ITU's General Secretariat, and the first woman to ever occupy this position. She advised the ITU Secretary General and oversaw the organisation's Membership, Corporate Communications and External Affairs. She served as Secretary to the ITU governing body, and as Coordinator of United Nations affairs for the organization, where she created the ITU liaison office to the UN in New York.

Michele Jawando, Bogdan-Martin and Rebeca Grynspan at UNCTAD eWeek in December 2023

Bogdan-Martin also served as the Executive Director of the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, Co-Founder of the EQUALS Global Partnership to bridge the digital divide, Co-creator of the GIGA school connectivity program with UNICEF, and creator of the Generation Connect initiative. As Director, she has focused on delivering new partnerships, global initiatives on connectivity, innovation, digital transformation and youth engagement.

On 29 September 2022, Bogdan-Martin was elected as the 20th Secretary-General of the ITU at the Plenipotentiary Conference in Bucharest, Romania. She received 139 votes out of 172, defeating Russia's Rashid Ismailov. She is the first woman to serve as the ITU Secretary-General.[3][4]

Professional affiliations

Bogdan-Martin an affiliate of the Harvard University Berkman-Klein Center for Internet and Society[5] and a member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Virtual Reality(VR) / Augmented Reality(AR).[6]

She is a Generation Unlimited Champion[7] and a Champion of the EDISON Alliance led by the World Economic Forum.[8] Other advisory bodies she serves on includes the Geneva-Tsinghua Initiative,[9] the SDG Lab Advisory Board,[10] the UN Technology Innovation Labs, and the Alumni Expert Council of the Internet Governance Lab of American University in Washington D.C. Bogdan-Martin is a member of the Amateur Radio League, and the IEEE.

She previously served as member of the Board of Governors of the UN Staff College, Chair of the United Nations Strategic Planning Group,[11] and Member of the Governing Committee of the Swiss Network for International Studies.[12]

Personal life

Bogdan-Martin is married and has two daughters and two sons. She is fluent in English, French and Spanish. She is an active Amateur Radio operator holding callsign KD2JTX and, in 2014, arranged for school students in Switzerland to talk live with astronauts in orbit through Amateur Radio on the International Space Station.[13]

Awards

On 23 September 2021 Bogdan-Martin was awarded the American University's Outstanding Technology Policy Changemaker Award for technology policy and creating a more just, equitable, and productive society.[14] On 27 February, GSMA awarded Bogdan-Martin the 2023 Chairman's Award for "outstanding achievements of individuals or organisations from across the mobile industry"[15] - specifically for creating the Partner2Connect initiative (a global leadership platform to facilitate partnerships aimed at expanding digital inclusion).

On 28 March 2023 it was announced that Bogdan-Martin was awarded the IEEE President's Award for "distinguished leadership and contributions to the public".[16][17]

References

  1. ↑ "Internet Governance Lab Announces AU Alumni Expert Council". Internet Governance Lab. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  2. ↑ "Doreen Bogdan-Martin - Agenda Contributor". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  3. ↑ "U.S. candidate beats Russian to head U.N. telecoms agency". Reuters. 29 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  4. ↑ "Member States elect Doreen Bogdan-Martin as ITU Secretary-General". ITU. 29 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  5. ↑ "Doreen Bogdan-Martin | Berkman Klein Center". cyber.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  6. ↑ "Partners". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  7. ↑ "Who We Are". www.generationunlimited.org. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  8. ↑ Svitak, Adora (30 April 2021). "Project Rewrite: A conversation on women's leadership and the power of connectivity with Doreen…". Medium. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  9. ↑ "Advisory Board | Geneva-Tsinghua Initiative". Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  10. ↑ "Launch of the SDG Lab Advisory Group". SDG Lab. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  11. ↑ "United Nations Strategic Planning Network (UNSPN) | United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination". 19 May 2021. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "about | SNIS". snis.ch. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  13. ↑ "ITU's ham radio station celebrates 60 years on air". International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  14. ↑ American University (23 September 2021). "American University Celebrates Doreen Bogdan-Martin's Leadership in Inclusivity and Technology Policy". Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  15. ↑ cgill@gsma.com (27 February 2023). "GSMA Announces 2023 Chairman's Award Winners". Newsroom. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  16. ↑ "IEEE President's Award". IEEE Awards. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  17. ↑ "Press Release". ITU. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
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