John Ridge has emerged as the new president of the Australian Computer Society, winning a three horse race for the title.
"We faced a difficult decision with three exceptional and very experienced IT&T professionals in Geoff Dober, Glen Heinrich and John Ridge, who presented very credible platforms for the future of the Society," said current president Prins Ralston.
Ridge, who is managing director of IT consultancy and training firm, Martin, Ridge and Associates, will take over as president of the Society from January 1 2000, replacing Ralston who step down from his presidency and join the ACS Council as immediate past president from that date.
"When the time comes to hand over the reins to John, I will feel confident in his vision and abilities to lead the Society forward," Ralston said.
Ridge said his aims for the Society included increasing membership by 30 per cent, and "melding the entire ACS team - including branch executive committees, national council, board directors and branches - into a more effective team."
The ACS' national council elected the new president, two new vice presidents and a new board of directors, for 2000 and 2001, last week.
The new vice presidents are Peter Kalkman who is a senior executive within the federal Attorney General's department and Denis Street, a senior consultant with Nolan, Norton and Co.
Three board directors were re-elected for additional terms, including Andrew Freeman, Richard Bridge and Tom Worthington.
Meanwhile, Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) executive director Peter Upton has announced he will leave the organisation in January. Upton has headed the lobby group for seven years.