The Cluster, which is managed by Luxinnovation, the National Agency for Innovation and Research, aims to enhance the collaboration between research and innovation actors in the ICT field in Luxembourg. The new Cluster President will, in close collaboration with Luxinnovation, determine the priorities and main fields of action of the Cluster and align them with private sector needs.

The Luxembourg ICT Cluster is part of the Luxembourg Cluster Initiative which was launched by the government in order to strengthen research and innovation in several key sectors. It brings together various actors in the field of ICT in Luxembourg – companies as well as public research organisations – with the goal of fostering new and sustainable business opportunities through collaborative research, development and innovation projects.  Its objective is to optimise the uptake of ICT as an enabling technology for various sectors and further develop the existing ICT sector in Luxembourg by encouraging networking and collaboration between the private and public sectors.

The cluster provides specific support activities and services to its members and offers a platform for networking, collaboration and exchange of experience. Through the appointment of a President from the private sector, Luxinnovation wants to strengthen the governance of the Cluster and ensure that its activities correspond to the needs of its members, in particular private enterprises.

“My main objective as the first President of the Luxembourg ICT Cluster is to enhance the communication between all the Cluster members and to promote our members at national and international level. We also want to better understand and meet our members’ needs in terms of business development, product and service innovation, branding, internationalisation and promotion,” states Mr Buck. This corresponds to the priorities outlined in the new strategy of the Luxembourg Cluster Initiative presented last October by the Minister of the Economy, Etienne Schneider.

Xavier Buck has been an internet entrepreneur since 1996. He founded Datacenter Luxembourg SA (www.datacenter.eu) in 2000, which became a leading hosting company in Europe, and two years later EuroDNS, one of the leading global internet registrars.

A firm believer in the accessibility of domain names for everyone, Mr Buck has greatly influenced the opening and simplified availability of all country code domain names throughout Europe. Today, EuroDNS covers worldwide domain extensions, including the new gTLDs, and proposes a large range of domain related services. Strategic investments into companies like DomainTools.com, eBrandServices and Openregistry have contributed to position EuroDNS as a global player in the domain industry.