Paul is a serial entrepreneur in the legal, cybersecurity, talent and biosecurity sectors. Paul is a Fellow and Core Theme Leader for “managing information and technology in the public interest” at the Global Solutions Initiative. He is also a Distinguished Fellow, at the Center for International Governance Innovation and a Commissioner of the Global Commission for Internet Governance. Paul is a founding figure and former CEO of ICANN, the global coordination body of the Internet, a role in which he was described by the New York Times as "the Chief Operating Officer of the Internet.". Paul was CEO of the Australian Government's National Office for the Information Economy and Deputy at the Australian Trade Commission. Formerly with McKinsey& Company, he was a special advisor to several Australian Ministers in the Keating and Howard Governments. He is a member of the SAP Artificial Intelligence Ethics Advisory Panel. He received his PhD from Cambridge University.