The Dot Kiwi Story

In 2013, the role of generic top-level domain names (gTLDs) will change, transforming the face of the Internet forever.

Last year, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) received applications for new domain name extensions. For the first time in history, New Zealanders will have a relevant choice for domain names other than .nz.

Dot Kiwi has applied to, and been accepted by ICANN for license of the .KIWI gTLD. We believe the .KIWI gTLD will offer New Zealand businesses greater branding creativity and the opportunity to differentiate themselves from competitors. It will be a domain for New Zealand, providing a fresh, modern online identity for all Kiwis.

The Cause

A percentage of Dot Kiwi's revenue and profit before tax from the sale of .kiwi domains will be donated to the Dot Kiwi Christchurch Trust, established to provide future support for Christchurch and its communities. The Trust will be administered directly by trustees independently of Dot Kiwi Ltd, with available funds being allocated according to their direction as they are received.

The Board of Directors and Officers

Jim Cranston - Director

A Toronto native, living in Vancouver since 1985, Jim has spent most of his business life providing professional consulting services to a broad range of industries in Canada and internationally with a primary focus on Information Technology. More recently Jim assumed Executive responsibility as Chief Information Officer at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia for a term of eight years ending in 2009.

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Peter Dengate Thrush - Director

Peter is immediate past Chairman of Top Level Domain Holdings (AIM: TLDH.L), a company dedicated to managing a portfolio of new generic Top Level Domains. Before joining the company, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of ICANN, and in that role managed the process that resulted in the historic decision to launch the new gTLD programme in June 2011. He has been actively involved in international policy development and Internet governance since 1995 and is a regular media commentator on Internet issues. Peter is a past Chairman of InternetNZ and of the Asia Pacific Top Level Domain Association.

A barrister and registered patent attorney specialising in intellectual property matters, Peter is Chairman of the New Zealand Electricity Rulings Panel and a member of the New Zealand Copyright Tribunal. He is also on the board of directors of Paycasso Verify Ltd, a London-based company specialising in on-line identity authentication and verification, using patented facial recognition technology.

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John Fraser - Director

Dr. Fraser was born and grew up in New Zealand. He attended the University of Otago in New Zealand graduating as a dentist in 1968, and completing a Master’s Degree (with Honours) in Dentistry in 1972. He immigrated to Canada in 1973 to join the Dental Faculty at the University of British Columbia (UBC) as an Assistant Professor. John has since specialised in Endodontics and is regarded as one of North America’s leading professionals in this field.

Dr. Fraser became a Certified Specialist in Endodontics in British Columbia in 1977. He is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada (1981) and a Diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics (1981). He is a Past President of the College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia, Past President of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada, and he has been a Governor of the Canadian Dental Association.

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Sir John Hansen - Director

Sir John William Hansen, a past judge of the New Zealand High Court, has enjoyed a prestigious legal career spanning more than forty years. He held several judicial offices from 1979 until 1988 in Hong Kong and since 1988, in the High Court of New Zealand. From 1995 until 2008, he fulfilled his duties at the Christchurch High Court. Hansen was awarded DCNZM in the 2008 Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to the judiciary.

Hansen is Chairman of the Legal Aid Services Board, Canterbury Clinical Network, Dunedin Venues Management Limited, Dunedin Venues Limited; Rulings Panel for the Gas Industry Co Ltd; Board of New Zealand Cricket; member IRB and NZRFU Appeals Council; member of Court of Appeals for the Solomon Islands and Western Samoa. He is also a member of the New Zealand Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Commission, an independent Commission set up to oversee the disbursement of funds donated to the New Zealand Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Appeal to help those effected by the February 2011 earthquake.

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Tim Johnson - CEO

Tim Johnson is a technologist and expat New Zealander with significant experience in developing and managing IT systems for large companies and government organisations. Tim has a strong interest in building and enhancing the Kiwi community online and around the world.

Tim is focused on what technology can enable, and is particularly passionate about how technology can bring people together to share information and improve their lives and the communities around them.

Following the devastating February 22, 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, Tim has been active in spreading the word about his hometown, both to raise funds for its recovery, and to help others learn from the experience of the city and its people. He has been a leader in campaigning for earthquake readiness in the Greater Vancouver Area, visiting municipal authorities to discuss and improve earthquake preparedness.

Tim is presently on the board of Kea Vancouver, is the founder of a business improvement group comprised of over 250 businesses in Vancouver, and is a pro-bono technology consultant to a number of small governments around the world.

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Angus Richardson - CFO

Angus is a Chartered Accountant with a background in Financial and Real Estate Services, having articled with KPMG LLP in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Angus provided Assurance and Tax services primarily for clients within the Financial Institutions and Real Estate sectors in Western Canada, developing a strength in internal controls management and financial reporting. Angus subsequently worked with Scotiabank in Vancouver providing transaction and capital markets advisory services to clients across a diverse range of industries from Forestry to Telecommunications.

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Hugh Richardson - Chairman

Hugh, an expat from Auckland and a CA by training is currently a director of the Apps Transport Group – an organization he has worked closely with for the past 10 years. Hugh and his wife June (who is from Christchurch) are directors of a number of private companies operating in New Zealand and western Canada.

Mr. Richardson has more than 35 years of financial and operating experience with organisations such as TNT Transport Group and Canada Steamship lines, where he served as General Manager and courier division President, respectively. After leaving the Reimer Group, where he was President of Intercity Truck lines from 1987, he formed a family holding company that contracted services to the Intermodal Division of CN Rail. He subsequently sold this operation to CN after CN launched its IPO in 1996.

Later that year, Mr. Richardson was part of a Canadian-led solid waste environmental initiative to Malaysia as a senior consultant for inter-modal and collection activities. On returning to Canada in 1998, Mr. Richardson began working with the Apps Transport Group after his family holding company acquired a significant interest in the western operating company. Mr. Richardson together with his wife June are directors of a number of private companies operating in New Zealand and western Canada.

Mr. Richardson was educated at Auckland University and is a qualified chartered accountant.

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June Richardson - Director

June was born in Christchurch and brought up in a farming community in North Canterbury. She was educated at St. Margaret’s College, an institution that has suffered severe damage as a result of the earthquakes. June travelled extensively prior to moving to Canada in 1975 and has since been involved with her husband Hugh in their various business and other endeavours in New Zealand and Canada. June maintains close contact with family and friends in Christchurch and North Canterbury and visits at least once per year. She has been an enthusiastic advocate for the launch and financing of the DOT KIWI initiative and has promoted with vigor the “funding for rebuilding Christchurch” which is a cornerstone of the DOT KIWI Business Plan

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David Rishworth - Director

David Rishworth is a barrister, solicitor and notary public, with his own practice in Auckland. For 37 years, he was a partner and then a consultant in law firm, Bell Gully. From 1992 until 2001 he was actively engaged in undertaking legal work for Asian investors in New Zealand in a wide variety of investments. Then, from 1995 until 2008 he was on the Executive Committee of the ASEAN New Zealand Combined Business council with a particular interest in Indonesia. He continues to represent Asian investors in New Zealand and has a modest business interest in Indonesia. He is also a trustee of the Asia New Zealand Foundation.

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