ACM CEO Search

The Position

The ACM Chief Executive Officer (CEO) serves as a leading figure in the computing field, representing an elite organization with the ability to speak on behalf of over 100,000 members on a worldwide basis and through an organization known for its integrity and quality. The CEO serves as the primary executive responsible for the formulation and implementation of ACM’s strategic direction, for representing ACM in the worldwide computing community, and for overall management of the affairs of the association.

The CEO reports to the ACM President and is under the direction of the ACM Executive Committee. The CEO is an ex officio member of the ACM Executive Committee, Council, and all committees and sub-organizations. The ACM Chief Operating Officer (COO) reports to the CEO and is responsible for managing the operations of ACM and its headquarters in New York and helping deliver on strategic initiatives.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Furthering the reputation of ACM and interfacing with international leaders of industry, academia, government, and other societies and organizations.
• Providing leadership and support to, and aligning and motivating the efforts of, staff and volunteers in the planning and execution of ACM’s programs and in the evaluation of these programs within the framework of ACM’s strategic direction and objectives.
• Providing executive management of ACM’s primary business areas (publications, conferences, membership, and financial management).
• Providing executive responsibility for all contractual and legal commitments of the association and assuring all activities of the association are carried out in keeping with the policies, procedures, and fiduciary principles governing the ACM.

Qualifications

Desired Skills and Experiences:

• Recognized professional standing in the computing field.
• Executive experience.
• Ability to secure funding from a variety of sources, including foundations, industry, and governmental agencies.
• Leadership and visionary skills.
• Crisis management skills.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Skills in group dynamics – including writing, speaking, negotiating, and moderating.
• International experience and perspective.
• Public relations skills.
• A willingness to travel substantially, both domestically and internationally.

More Specific Expectations:

• Organizational Vision Setting
  • Identify which current ACM activities do not fully align with and promote ACM's mission and vision.
  • Develop strategies to overcome those weaknesses, and distill the issues & solutions into a coherent and compelling message.
  • Educate others on the needed changes and inspire them to be supporters/advocates.
• Executive Leadership of ACM
  • Manage relationships with major spin-off units of ACM (e.g., CSTA) and ensure they are on a sound financial footing.
  • Foster communication across volunteer-led units by making them aware of what other units are doing.
  • Drive synergies across units by making them aware of how their activities might affect other units.
  • Lead by example, seek out and encourage diverse candidates to assume staff/volunteer leadership roles.
  • Ensure the working environment for ACM staff makes them comfortable taking risks to help ACM fulfill its mission.
• Representing ACM Globally
  • Maintain ACM's image with the highest standards of professional demeanor.
  • Communicate ACM's vision and culture effectively, both within and outside the organization.
  • Foster working alliances with like-minded organizations to leverage ACM’s influence.
• Maintaining ACM's Financial Health
  • Develop and execute a sustainable funding strategy to ensure the long-term financial health of ACM, including identifying new funding sources that clearly advance ACM's visibility and/or effectiveness.
  • Oversee preparation of the annual budget to ensure it embodies a sustainable implementation of ACM’s mission.
  • Monitor the progress of ACM’s investment strategy and ensure that it keeps up with changes in the financial environment.

About the Association for Computing Machinery 

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is the oldest and largest scientific and educational computing society in the world. Founded in 1947, just a year after the unveiling of ENIAC – the first general-purpose electronic digital computer, ACM was established to provide forums for sharing experiences, ideas, and knowledge surrounding the new technology of computing. Over the intervening 78 years, ACM has flourished along with the computing field itself, playing a major role in defining the scientific and engineering foundations of computing and computer science and leading a worldwide effort to advance computing as a science and profession.

With a worldwide membership of over 100,000 practitioners, educators, researchers, and students, and with an unprecedented number of publications, conferences, tutorials, and special interest groups, ACM is the premier society in computing and the primary forum for sharing and understanding the latest trends and developments in all aspects of the computing field.

ACM has become a leading scholarly publisher in computing, with over 90 periodicals and hundreds of conference proceedings published annually. Over the past two decades, the ACM Digital Library has set a standard for highly accessible, leading edge digital collections. Moreover, ACM is working to help define the future of professional society scholarly publishing in a rapidly changing digital world.

ACM's 37 special interest groups (SIGs) provide the means for keeping current in specific technical areas within the computing field. Each ACM SIG focuses on a different sub-discipline of computing and is responsible for building a vibrant technical community. The volunteers within ACM SIGs work with ACM staff to create and sustain programs, products, and services of value to these communities.

In addition to publications and conferences, ACM is engaged in multiple efforts to ensure computing is a well-understood and healthy discipline. For decades, ACM has led the effort to define the field of computing through a series of ever-evolving curriculum guidelines and accreditation standards. ACM has initiated efforts to see real computer science exist and count in high schools, and be taught by a well-trained, well-supported community of computing teachers. Throughout, ACM has worked both on its own and with other organizations to increase the diversity of both the educational pipeline and the computing workforce.

Finally, over the past several years, ACM has had a significant focus on better serving practitioners in its field and being more engaged and relevant globally. Read more about the organization here: https://www.acm.org

Strategic Goals

ACM's planning processes have led to the following strategic priorities to guide the organization in the near term:

• Define and shape the future of professional-society scholarly publishing.
• Expand ACM offerings to better serve practitioners while maintaining a strong appeal to the academic and research communities.
• Develop and implement strategies to secure funding and donations to support the ACM Digital Library and other ACM programs.
• Build alliances with industry to support ACM programs and supplement strong involvement with academia and research.
• Rapidly identify emerging technologies as well as computing-related interdisciplinary fields and create a home for them within ACM.
• Increase ACM’s international stature, grow and serve the ACM community worldwide, and foster international activities.
• In the public policy arena, provide information on computing science and technology policy issues and on computer science education policy issues to governments and the public.

Dimensions:

FY 2025 Revenue	$94 million
FY 2025 Expenses	$92 million
FY 2025 Staff	76
FY 2025 Membership	100,000+
Operating Reserves	$182 million

Location: It is not a requirement that the CEO live in New York and work from ACM’s New York headquarters. It is expected that the CEO will hold regular meetings with the Headquarters staff both online and in person.

To Apply

Interested individuals are encouraged to apply promptly as the review of applications will begin immediately and qualified candidates will be shared with the organization as they come in. Please submit a CV/resume and a letter that explains your interest and describes your related experience/qualifications. All applications and nominations will be held in confidence. The position profile can be viewed here: https://summitsearchsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ACM_CEO_Profile-.pdf

To apply online, go to https://theapplicantmanager.com/jobs?pos=su489

For more information or to offer recommendations or nominations:

Tammarah Townes
Senior Consultant
Summit Search Solutions, Inc.
Direct: +1 302.388.9480
[email protected] 

Salary Range: An anticipated salary commensurate with experience will be negotiated in the range of $500,000 - $675,000 with the potential for bonuses.

It is the policy of ACM to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.