Leadership is frequently as difficult to define as it is necessary for success. There are numerous publications, talks, and symposiums on the subject, and excellent leadership as a skill draws notice everywhere it appears. It is typically simple to identify strong leaders, whether in business or elsewhere, but it is sometimes far more complex to examine and articulate the characteristics that contribute to their success. In other words, creating a model for effective leadership is intrinsically challenging.

Akram Atallah, CEO of Identity Digital has demonstrated effective and exemplary  leadership at many companies. At Conexant, he increased business unit sales to more than $800 million, improved profit margins, transformed the marketing and technical operations, and strengthened the company’s position as a worldwide market leader. He comes to Identity Digital from ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, where he was the first president of the Global Domains Division (now Global Domains and Strategy) and managed generic domain operations, domain name industry involvement, and web services.

Passion for the Digital World

At an early age, Akram had an interest in and talent for high technology. Studying computer engineering, he began as a hard disk drive systems engineer, later developing several chips. But he quickly discovered that even the finest product is useless unless it meets a market need.

After his MBA, Akram worked in product marketing for a semiconductor manufacturer. He rose through the ranks, eventually becoming general manager and COO at different technology firms, followed by acting COO of ICANN and then president of the Global Domains Division for ICANN. He is presently serving as CEO of Identity Digital Inc. These leadership positions enabled Akram to play an important part in formulating thorough and well-thought-out plans that led to the success of both existing organizations and startups.

The Role of CEO

Akram’s key responsibility at Identity Digital is to provide leadership. This includes many characteristics. At the very least, a good leader must have a clear vision, communicate frequently, be accountable, sincere, and compassionate.

Akram believes in leadership that embraces diversity, innovation, collaboration, learning, and growth – leadership that helps each employee of Identity Digital be the best they can be. He states, “It is preferable to lead by example, so I strive to be a mindful leader who creates a solid, teamwork-oriented community where all constituents feel empowered to contribute and play an important part, giving them a sense of belonging.” He balances different stakeholders’ needs, works with care and consideration and encourages a shared voice and vision.

Identity Digital

Identity Digital operates the world’s most comprehensive and relevant portfolio of next-generation top-level domains (TLDs), providing people and businesses with new opportunities to promote and develop a more authentic digital identity.

Its domain names serve enterprises of all sizes, but they are especially beneficial to people establishing and operating businesses. One of the first steps an entrepreneur must make before going public is selecting a compatible company and domain name. Descriptive domain names are critical to this. Entrepreneurs may choose from over 270 descriptive domain extensions the organization offers to convey their true digital identity without compromise.

Identity Digital has TLDs in many different categories, from business identifiers (such as .ltd, and .company), and navigation (such as .careers, .support, or .social), to vertical markets (such as .photography, .cafe, or .games), or generic terms (such as .life, .world or .live). Domain extensions can help build brand awareness in a way that’s targeted and memorable.

Keyword-rich and industry-specific domains using both sides of the dot are easy to remember      and highlight what is unique about an entrepreneur’s firm from a customer’s very first impression.

Furthermore, descriptive domain names can be brief and help establish brand identity, significantly impacting SEO. Akram states, “Our high SEO impact domain names leverage descriptive words to send a strong signal to search engines and help our customers rank higher in the search results.” He cites janover.ventures as a perfect example. In 2020, one million users visited Janover’s websites, primarily from organic traffic driven by SEO. The company saw business growth of 184%!

Exclusive Service Offerings 

Identity Digital’s primary service is ensuring people can own the domain name that best defines who they are and what they do.  This is possible because Identity Digital makes           hundreds of unique domain extensions available. There is no need to settle for a name that does not perfectly match your corporate identity. This is significant since online identity is everything in today’s digital world.

Furthermore, Identity Digital ensures that its solutions are more secure, robust, and protected than traditional domains can offer. Akram shares, “Our domains include cutting-edge security protection from posers, hackers, phishers, and glitches. Our customers are cybersafe with our domain names.” Phishing attacks are responsible for more than 80% of reported security incidents. According to CISCO’s 2021 Cybersecurity Threat Trends report, about 90% of data breaches occur due to phishing.

Identity Digital’s ‘Domains Protected Marks List’ protects brands and trademarks and prevents cybersquatting, so customers can be confident their domains are available for future use. They can also easily block registrations of validated trademarks, and there is no need to require defensive domain purchases. This also avoids expensive brand protection actions.

Recognition for Being Excellent

By far, the finest accolade Akram has received is that he has always been chosen to confront difficult situations, from recovering bankrupt enterprises to building new market leadership positions throughout his managerial career. When those who know Akram urge him to step in and address significant situations, he considers it the best vote of confidence.

Identity Digital has won multiple industry honors, which Akram attributes to its leadership and teamwork with all stakeholders. Among the notable achievements is the firm’s receipt of the prestigious ‘Global InfoSec Award’ for their Homograph Phishing Protection. Last January, Built In awarded Digital Identity its 2022 ‘Best Places to Work Awards,’ and Identity Digital made the prestigious Inc. 5000 list as one of the fastest-growing U.S. private companies in 2021. Akram is also very proud to be a regular contributor and member of the Forbes Council.

Message for Tech Visionaries

Akram sees technology play a crucial part for years to come across many fields. He says, “You will need to know the technical field you’re in to be effective and authentic.” He goes on to say that techies are logical thinkers and authenticity detectors and that in order to lead them, you must first understand them. A technologist, on the other hand, must be able to put him or herself in the shoes of their clients to comprehend what products and features are required, and never assume that you are the market. Along the same lines, he says to never cut corners as a technologist since it will always catch up with you.

A Vision for Upcoming Years

“We never stop seeking what’s on the horizon,” says Akram. Customers’ requirements will vary as the digital world advances. Identity Digital is always inventing, researching, and investing in creating demand and producing the future solutions that customers will desire.

Under Akram’s exemplary leadership, Identity Digital recently underwent a rebranding process to better match its image and aspirations of evolving the future of genuine digital identities for forward-thinking individuals and enterprises worldwide. It was previously known as Donuts Inc. The name was changed to Identity Digital Inc. to reflect its dedication to helping customers find, access, and grow their digital identities. It will continue to support that purpose in the coming years.

Website: www.identity.digital