[PDB Gov] Risk of excessive DE-CIX influence on PeeringDB

[Thomas Wodarek]

A similar rule exists for the Kubernetes Steering Committee if we're
looking for inspiration from other community organizations.  They require
any given company have no more than 1/3 representation (so a maximum of 2
seats on their 7 member committee), and lay out rules for how to handle
this when problems arise:
https://github.com/kubernetes/steering/blob/main/elections.md#maximal-representation

On Tue, Apr 14, 2026, 1:00 PM Barry O'Donovan via Pdb-gov <
pdb-gov at lists.peeringdb.com> wrote:

>
> This discussion needs to be decoupled from the candidates, as I’d happily
> give either my vote.
>
> This is simply a matter of good (corporate) governance: there should be a
> limit of one on people serving as directors from the same organisation.
>
> As it stands, bylaw 2.3.2
> <https://docs.peeringdb.com/gov/legaldocs/2026-01-14_PeeringDB_Bylaws.pdf> prevents
> members who are affiliated with each other having more than one vote. It
> surely then makes no sense to have two directors from the same org 🤷‍♂️
>
>  - Barry
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 14/04/2026 11:45:14, "John van Oppen via Pdb-gov" <
> pdb-gov at lists.peeringdb.com> wrote:
>
> Why would we force this or make a rule vs just letting the voting
> community decide? 2/5 is not an organizational risk, perception only risks
> should be handled through the voting process in my mind.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Pdb-gov <pdb-gov-bounces at lists.peeringdb.com> On Behalf Of Theo
> Voss via Pdb-gov
> Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2026 9:43 AM
> To: Stephen McManus <smcmanus at peeringdb.com>
> Cc: Chris Caputo <ccaputo-dated-1786549804.27c661 at alt.net>;
> pdb-gov at lists.peeringdb.com; Chris Caputo <ccaputo at alt.net>
> Subject: Re: [PDB Gov] Risk of excessive DE-CIX influence on PeeringDB
>
> +1, 5 seats should represent the entire PeeringDB community. Having them
> +occupied by 2 people from
> the same company creates an unhealthy imbalance from my POV.
>
> Best regards,
> Theo Voss, Inter.link
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> On Tuesday, 04/14/26 at 18:40 Stephen McManus via Pdb-gov <
> pdb-gov at lists.peeringdb.com> wrote:
> +1 to the perception problem. I would not consider running while Alex
> Corso as we both work at Meta. I like working with both Yolandi and Arnold
> but imo we should have a rule to prevent >1 sitting board member from the
> same organization.
>
> I think a looser rule for committee membership could be considered as well
> if we do consider that: > 2?
>
> -Steve
>
>
> On Apr 14, 2026, at 11:50 AM, Chris Caputo via Pdb-gov <
> pdb-gov at lists.peeringdb.com> wrote:
>
> At https://docs.peeringdb.com/gov/misc/2026-04-14_election.html I see
> that two DE-CIX personnel are running for the 5-person PeeringDB
> Board, based on their names also being present on
> https://www.de-cix.net/en/about-de-cix/the-team:
>
> - Arnold Nipper, Chief Technology Evangelist and Co-Founder
>
> - Yolandi Cloete, Interconnection Community and Academy Manager
>
> While board members are expected to serve independently of their
> affiliations, I am concerned about the potential risks of 2/5th's of
> the PeeringDB Board having the same conflict of interest.
>
> Thus I ask that either Arnold or Yolandi rapidly consider withdrawing
> from this election prior to the end of the April 14th 23:59:59 UTC
> 2026 call for candidates, just over 8 hours from now.
>
> I am sure both individuals are upstanding, but the perception of
> capture by DE-CIX is, in my opinion, not a good look and not a good
> risk for the PeeringDB community to be faced with.
>
> Since I don't see Yolandi as even subscribed to pdb-gov@, I will
> forward this to her after sending to the list. (Arnold is subscribed.)
>
> Thank you for your consideration.
>
> Chris
>
>
>
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.peeringdb.com/pipermail/pdb-gov/attachments/20260414/bd2ed397/attachment.htm>