By uniting disparate organizations through the multistakeholder governance model and leading key Internet bodies, Hartmut Glaser helped to forge the way for the development of the Internet in Brazil and Latin America and influenced Internet governance worldwide.
Just as the Internet relies on different kinds of technologies working seamlessly together, it also requires the cooperation of groups and people across government, industry, academia, and civil society organizations. But this cooperation was not always a given. Having become a naturalized citizen of Brazil and with an academic career (he holds advanced degrees in electrical engineering), Glaser took on the role of consensus builder in the early days of the Internet in Brazil. The models for how the Internet should be managed codified Internet policies beneficial to all Brazilians and throughout Latin America. They also set an example that has been followed worldwide.
Glaser began his career teaching at the University of São Paulo (USP). USP was home of one of the first Internet access nodes in Brazil, which was managed by the Academic Network of São Paulo (ANSP). Glaser became the coordinator of ANSP in 1996 and was very supportive for the development of the program for domain-name registration in Brazil. As the need for domains outgrew these academic roots, Glaser became executive secretary of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) and was part of the establishment of the Brazilian Network Information Centre (NIC.br), which allowed the Brazilian domain registry to grow at scale.
In 2000, Glaser was part of the foundation of the Latin American and Caribbean Network Information Centre (LACNIC), one of five global Regional Internet Registries. In his role as director of LACNIC, Glaser facilitated the necessary technology support from CGI.br that was critical to build, manage and expand LACNIC. Also as director of LACNIC, Glaser represented Latin America at worldwide conferences and gatherings, bringing his knowledge, influence, and collaborative style to the development of global Internet policy.
The long list of organizations in which Glaser has held leadership positions includes the Number Resource Organization, the Address Supporting Organization, and ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) where he served on the Nominating Committee. He also served on the United Nations MultiStakeholder Advisory Group (MAG), playing a key role in developing Internet governance concepts and ideas. Indeed, Glaser is responsible for establishing the Brazilian School of Internet Governance, which introduces new leaders to the principles and best practices that guide Internet use worldwide.
