Niel Harper

Niel Harper joined the Internet Society in April 2012. He is the Director, Next Generation Leaders and Fellowships.

Niel has more than 20 years of experience in the areas of telecoms management, cybersecurity, IT governance & strategy, ICT policy research & advisory services, and programme management.

His previous roles include Chief Information Officer at the Bermuda Commercial Bank where he led the organization's IT-enabled business transformation; Head of Telecommunications Engineering at CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank where he oversaw an end-to-end upgrade of the company's network infrastructure across 18 countries; Chief Internal Auditor at Sint Maarten Telecommunications Group where he developed the organization’s enterprise risk management and internal audit methodologies; Manager, Network Operations at AT&T Wireless where he led the deployment and operationalization of 2.5G mobile networks; and Telecoms Engineering Technician with Cable & Wireless where he was a member of the team responsible for the launch of Caribsurf Internet Services, the first ISP in Barbados.

Niel holds a LLM in Internet Law & Policy from University of Strathclyde (UK), a MBA in Quality Management from the University of Leicester (UK) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Telecoms Regulation & Policy from the University of the West Indies (Trinidad & Tobago). He is an Incorporated Engineer (IEng) registered with the UK Engineering Council, a Chartered Fellow of the British Computer Society, a Senior Member of the IEEE, and holds a number of industry certifications in cybersecurity, IT auditing, risk management, and business continuity management. He has also been recognized as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.

Niel is passionate about Internet Governance related activities, and is keen to work on developing the capabilities of emerging leaders in the Internet ecosystem.

Niel has been an NGL participant himself. He was selected for the 2011 English e-Learning class and was also one of our two Fellows to the OECD Technology Foresight Forum in 2011.

Niel is from Bridgetown, Barbados.

Image credit: © Jordi Ruiz Cirera/Panos