Niel Harper joined the Internet Society in April 2012 as the Senior Manager, Next Generation Leaders Programmes.

Niel has more than 18 years of experience in the areas of telecoms engineering management, cybersecurity, IT governance & strategy, ICT policy research & advisory, and programme management.

His previous roles include Head of Telecommunications Engineering at CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank where he served on the Change Advisory Board and Technical Architecture Committee; Chief Internal Auditor at Sint Maarten Telecommunications Group where he developed the organization’s enterprise risk management and audit methodologies; Manager, Network Operations at AT&T Wireless International where he led the deployment and operationalization of the first 2.5G mobile network in the English-speaking Caribbean (Barbados); and Telecoms Engineering Technician with Cable & Wireless Caribbean where he was a member of the team responsible for the operations and administration of Caribsurf Internet Services, the first ISP in Barbados.

Niel holds an MBA in Quality Management from the University of Leicester (UK) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Telecommunications 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, and holds a number of industry certifications in IT auditing, information security, 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.