Updated: Wed Apr 15 16:15 UTC 2026
PeeringDB Voter's Guide for Board of Directors Election April 15th through 29th 2026 UTC
Bylaws at https://docs.peeringdb.com/gov/legaldocs/2026-01-14_PeeringDB_Bylaws.pdf define Membership:
"A corporation, limited liability company, partnership or other legal business entity may be a Member of the Corporation. Membership is determined by having both an active PeeringDB.com account and an individual representative or role subscription to the PeeringDB Governance mailing list: http://lists.peeringdb.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pdb-gov"
Each Member may submit one ballot. We are employing Single Transferable Vote (STV) as the voting system. This means that you rank your candidate preferences from most preferred to least preferred. You do not need to rank all the candidates. A later ballot from a representative of a Member will replace a previous ballot from the same Member.
There are 5 seats on the Board of Directors, 2 of which are up for election this year. A Director term is 2 years.
The following schedule applies to Board elections:
Through April 14th 23:59:59 UTC 2026: Candidates may submit their candidacy and a maximum 300 word statement, as determined by the POSIX "LANG=en_US.UTF-8 wc -w" command, or revisions to their statement, to secretary@peeringdb.com.
April 15th 2026: A voter registration form will be sent to the PeeringDB Governance mailing list (pdb-gov@lists.peeringdb.com).
April 15th through 29th 23:59 UTC 2026: Voting. (Registrations received after April 28th UTC are not guaranteed to be processed in time for the April 29th 23:59 UTC voting deadline.)
List of Candidates:
Candidate Statements:
Jean-Francis Ahanda
I am Jean-Francis Ahanda, Group CTO and General Manager of Datacenter Services at ST DIGITAL (AS328840), a cloud and datacenter operator headquartered in Cameroon, with operations across seven african countries.
PeeringDB is critical infrastructure for the African internet ecosystem. Yet the African peering community remains significantly underrepresented in its governance. I bring to the Board a grounded, operational perspective from a region where internet exchange development, peering adoption, and routing security are still maturing.
My priorities if elected:
Strengthen PeeringDB's relevance and adoption across IXPs and emerging PoPs. Advocate for tooling and policies that improve registry accuracy, especially in underserved regions. Ensure PeeringDB remains a community-driven, vendor-neutral resource as the global peering landscape evolves.
I actively engage with the African network operator community and I would be honored to serve the PeeringDB community.
Brian Burke
Hey All, I am Brian Burke. I currently manage peering & interconnection strategy at AWS, but I've been in this industry for 15+ years across a few different networks.
PeeringDB works because it's community-owned and community-maintained. Nobody's monetizing your data or putting a thumb on the scale. Every network gets the same blank canvas. That's rare, and worth protecting.
I want to join the board because I think PeeringDB is at an inflection point, and I'd like to help shape what comes next. Traffic patterns are shifting fast. AI workloads are creating new concentrations of demand and a wave of networks that don't fit neatly into traditional categories. PeeringDB has a real opportunity to evolve from a directory into something more active.
A few things I'd push for that don't exist today. First, a standardized peering request protocol: instead of a mailto link, a structured JSON handshake that routes to a peer's automation system like Peering Manager or NetBox. This would let two networks negotiate a session without a human typing a single IP address and gives organizations a way to solicit peering without publishing contact information publicly. Second, a "Simulate Interconnect" tool where you pick two ASNs and PeeringDB surfaces your best common meeting points. That logic lives in external scripts today and it should just be a button. Third, change notifications, so you know when a peer's policy, contacts, or IX presence changes without checking manually.
On sustainability, the volunteer model is the right foundation, and I want to protect it. But I'd work toward a way for operators who depend on PeeringDB to invest in its development without that meaning influence over its direction. Community-governed, better resourced.
PeeringDB has always been ahead of the curve. I'd love to help keep it there.
Thanks for your consideration!
Jack Carrozzo
Jack is an open-source and open-data evangelist with a bit over 20 years building networks, software, and hardware. Jack has worked with and led several small to medium terrestrial and airborne microwave networks, designed and implemented network hardware, gateware, firmware, and software, and worked at a few "big name" shops like Verizon Wireless and Bose. After running a small engineering group in Massachusetts prototyping fpga realtime network devices for a few years, Jack is currently employed at Apple.
Jack has been Chair of the PDB Product Committee for a little over two years and is pleased by the progress we've made towards efficiency, speed, first-release correctness. Jack's main concern with respect to PeeringDB is the push-pull of "industry"/very large cos/the economically powerful vs small players and nonprofits like community IXs, rural WISPS, etc.
If elected, I will (1) continue pushing for fast, stable, reliable, and accurate data for everyone everywhere (2) make sure small/medium/nonprofit/non-US voices continue to be heard and designed-for, and (3) ensure PDB stays firmly on the open-source-open-data path.
Yolandi Cloete
I have been part of the Internet industry for over a decade, and for the past six years I have actively participated in PeeringDB committees. During this time, I have seen firsthand the value PeeringDB brings to the global networking community, and I am proud to be both a contributor and an active user of the platform. My involvement has allowed me to gain practical experience across different committee roles, and I believe this has prepared me to take the next step in serving PeeringDB at the board level. In my current professional role, I am encouraged and supported to take on volunteer positions that strengthen the wider ecosystem. This has given me the opportunity to dedicate time and energy to PeeringDB and other committees, and I am committed to continuing that contribution. I am passionate about the mission of PeeringDB: to provide a neutral, reliable, and accessible database that supports interconnection and collaboration across networks.
As a board member, I would bring a combination of industry experience, committee knowledge, and a user's perspective. I understand the importance of governance, transparency, and accountability, and I am prepared to help ensure PeeringDB continues to meet the needs of its diverse community. I would contribute by:
- Supporting strategic planning to keep PeeringDB relevant and responsive.
- Advocating for inclusivity and broad participation across regions and stakeholder groups.
- Ensuring operational sustainability and encouraging volunteer engagement.
- Acting as a bridge between users and the organization, bringing feedback and insights from active use of the platform.
I see this as my first major step into board-level leadership, and I am eager to apply my experience, energy, and commitment to PeeringDB's continued success. I truly appreciate the consideration.
Martin J. Hannigan
PeeringDB is critical infrastructure for global interconnection. I will support its long-term reliability, performance, and data accuracy through strong governance and responsible financial stewardship. The community depends on PeeringDB as a trusted source of truth, and its stability requires predictable funding, clear accountability, and a standards driven approach to data integrity. I want to ensure PeeringDB stays resilient, neutral, and community governed as the industry grows more complex. I will also work with the team to secure the financial resources needed to promote excellence and strengthen our most important initiatives, drawing on my experience in major fundraising for Open IX when it was originally founded.
Across roles at Lumen, Akamai, Microsoft, Twitch, and my own companies, I negotiated global interconnection agreements, scaled platforms to multi terabit capacity, and aligned network architecture with interconnection economics. These experiences shape my view that PeeringDB's governance must evolve to match its operational importance while preserving the neutrality and community ownership that define it.
I am running to support PeeringDB's reliability, sustainability, and data accuracy through responsible financial planning and executive level governance. Let's go!
Alex Latzko
I'm Alex currently the Director of Global Networking at Edgevana, with forty years of experience in the networking industry and, equally if not more importantly, similar time in non-profits at the director and executive levels.
Peeringdb is as critical a piece of network infrastructure as any physical facility and deserves the best stewardship possible. For those who don't know me, among other things I was the founding treasurer of NYNOG, been a long time participant in IETF, NANOG and was an original member of the InterOP NET NOCteam.
David Macmahon
I am David Macmahon from Colombia, CEO and Founder of TVYMAS (AS273103), a 2026 LACNIC R&D Ambassador, and director of one of the largest technical network operator associations in Colombia (ISPs del futuro).
Through my work in the industry, I have promoted the adoption of new technologies, operational best practices, and stronger collaboration among network operators across Latin America, helping them remain competitive and resilient in a rapidly evolving ecosystem.
As a LACNIC R&D Ambassador, I have encouraged operators in the region to engage with emerging industry trends, accelerate their technical evolution, and actively participate in initiatives that strengthen the Internet ecosystem.
As a member of the PeeringDB Board, I would like to help drive broader platform adoption, encourage automation that improves coordination among partners, and contribute to making PeeringDB even more useful for the global interconnection community.
It would be an honor to serve on the Board and bring a stronger Latin American voice to the continued evolution of PeeringDB.
Marco Marzetti
Having been an active participant in the peering ecosystem for over a decade, I had the opportunity to witness PeeringDB evolve into the "source of truth" for the industry. My primary motivation for joining the board is to ensure it remains relevant, stable, and responsive for the years to come, and for the good of the whole internet.
To remain relevant, PeeringDB must adapt without losing the reliability that operators depend on. I am committed to working on actions that enable community feedback to lead to feature updates, while simultaneously improving the standards for data integrity and system uptime.
Having served on the Board of Directors of ITNOG (the Italian Network Operators Group) for more than 10 years, I understand the governance needed to keep a non-profit organization financially stable, sound, and transparent.
My experience there has taught me how to listen to each member of a community and translate their requests into actions. A skill I am eager to leverage for the PeeringDB community.
Arnold Nipper
PeeringDB has shaped my career for over 15 years. I helped set up what was later called the Admin Committee, then served for 4 years on the first Board. I've also stayed involved through the Outreach and Product committees, showing my ongoing commitment to PeeringDB's mission. I'm now running for the Board again because I believe PeeringDB is at a turning point and needs round-the-clock operations and full-time support.
As Co-Founder and Chief Technology Evangelist of DE-CIX, one of the world's largest Internet Exchange Points, I see every day how much interconnection relies on PeeringDB's accurate, available, and reliable data and services. PeeringDB started as a community tool but has become essential infrastructure for the global Internet. As it has grown, we need to make sure our support for it grows too.
If elected, my main goal is to help PeeringDB move its most important services from being run only by volunteers to a model that is sustainable and professionally supported. This isn't about changing PeeringDB's open and collaborative spirit; it's about making sure we protect it. Critical infrastructure can't depend only on goodwill. It needs steady funding, dedicated resources, and long-term stability.
I bring a unique mix of deep knowledge about PeeringDB, hands-on technical and operational experience from running a global IXP, and strong connections across the peering and interconnection community. I understand both the technical side and the community relationships that keep PeeringDB running.
Support my run for a sustainable PeeringDB.
Konstantin Ternianov
I am Konstantin Ternianov, founder and CEO of TBISS (AS42295), an independent network operator in Europe and active across major IXPs.
I use PeeringDB daily as part of real operational work. It is not just a directory for me, it is a working tool for peering decisions, expansion planning and maintaining interconnection quality. That hands-on perspective is what I would bring to the Board.
I am a long-standing and well-known member of the peering community, regularly present at key industry events including Peering Days, European Peering Forum, RIPE meetings, Global Peering Forum, PTC, and regional NOG and IXP meetings such as LINX, Netnod and MORE-IP. I also attend events in Latin America and Asia when possible. Over the years I have built strong relationships across the ecosystem and remain actively engaged in the peering circle.
I have been involved in the Internet industry since 1997 and am considered one of the early pioneers of the Bulgarian Internet. Alongside network operations, I have contributed to international projects, including IT initiatives related to FIFA, and my company develops and operates the national football registration system in Bulgaria.
As I travel regularly and stay closely connected to the community, I can help spread knowledge and bring feedback from real-world operations. Coming from an active business environment, I understand the practical challenges, needs and expectations of fellow network operators.
If elected, I would focus on keeping PeeringDB practical, accurate and relevant, while supporting sustainable growth without losing its community-driven spirit.