Ali Drissa Badiel is the ITU Area Representative for West Africa since 1 October 2012. He is a graduate Telecom Engineer from Telecom & Management SudParis, Evry, France, since 1996. He also holds a Master’s degree in Pure Physics from the University of Ouagadougou in 1993, obtained after his baccalaureate C at Lycee Scientifique de Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire, in 1989. Mr. Badiel also received a MSc in Cyber Security and an MBA from the University Maryland (UMUC, United States) in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Mr. Badiel joined ITU in November 2007 in Addis Ababa, where he served for 5 years as Senior Advisor to the Regional Director for Africa, in charge of broadband networks, IP networks, ICT applications and cybersecurity. He was appointed ITU Area Representative a.i. for Central Africa, with his duty station in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in 2009. Before joining the ITU in 2007, he served as Senior Engineer for 11 years at Office National des Telecommunications (ONATEL S.A.) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, where he held various positions, including the position of Head of the Internet Department (Fasonet) from 2000 to 2007. He was also an international consultant for the ITU and the African Union between 2004 and 2007, a freelance Professor in several colleges in Burkina Faso and a Member of the French Speaking Countries Taskforce for Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) to the ICANN (GTF-ICANN) from 2000 to 2007. Mr. Badiel is fluent in French and English and has some knowledge of German and Arabic.