After establishing himself as an integral figure at ACS Victoria, Craig Horne is ready to step up at the national level in his new role as ACS Vice President.

Late last month, Horne was elected as ACS’ new Vice President, following Yohan Ramasundara vacating the role to become President.

Horne has been a member with ACS for over 20 years, serving as an ordinary committee member, Vice Chairman, Chairman and as chair of a number of sub-committees.

It was his time as Branch Chair for ACS Victoria in 2015-16 that was particularly eye-opening.

“I've learnt a lot about board culture and how that can drive cohesion and overall growth if you get it right,” he told Information Age.

“I've also learnt that ACS needs to have an outward focus, not inward, with effective engagement with academic, business and government sectors.”

While Horne is deeply passionate about leading ACS and the Australian ICT sector, it was partly his competitive streak that prompted him to run for his new position.

“I think that I have a lot to offer at national level,” he said. “Many of my ideas for improvement can only be implemented across the entire membership, not just at state level.”

“Also, my wife is a medical practitioner and is active at both state and federal levels in her professional association.

“I feel like I'm playing catch-up to emulate her energy!

“She both inspires and supports me at the same time.”

Horne’s new role will see him assisting the President within ACS’ Management Committee to ensure legal and regulatory compliance, secure financial resources and ensure appropriate organisational procedures are in place.

“I have a specific responsibility to recruit, retain and recognise our members,” he said. “Being effective at this will be my toughest challenge although recognising members for their stellar contributions will be a delight.”

His top goal as Vice President is simple – growth.

“The main goal will be to increase the number of ACS members through strategic engagements with key sectors,” Horne said.

“I'd like to increase the number of ACS members that identify from a marginalised cohort of ICT professionals as I think ACS has a lot of services and benefits to offer them.

“Ultimately, I'd like to start laying the groundwork for ACS to become a platform that supports all communities within the ICT profession to continually develop and network together.”

Horne also has some lofty ambitions outside of ACS.

An avid kayaker, he has recently paddled from Victoria to Tasmania to raise money for the Commando Welfare Trust charity.

His next challenge? Only to climb the 6,962-metre Mount Aconcagua in Argentina (the largest mountain outside of Asia).

Add a current PhD in information security strategy at the University of Melbourne and a small family into the picture, and it’s safe to say Craig Horne will have a very busy 2018.