Al Horvath named new CEO of the American Chemical Society

Via C&EN, this news (article by Alexandra A. Taylor): 

ACS treasurer and chief financial officer Albert G. Horvath will succeed Thomas Connelly as head of the American Chemical Society, effective Jan. 1, 2023. Connelly will retire at the end of 2022 after nearly 8 years with ACS. (ACS publishes C&EN.)

“I am pleased that a person with Al Horvath’s skill will be the next CEO of ACS,” Paul W. Jagodzinski, chair of the ACS Board of Directors, says in a statement. “His dedication to the mission and core values of ACS, coupled with his experience in member and public-serving organizations, position him well to lead the Society as we move forward.”

“I'm incredibly honored and humbled by this opportunity,” Horvath tells C&EN. “We're in a very good spot. We have our issues. But I think the challenge for me will be to continue that momentum and keep us moving forward as we have.” 

As CEO, Horvath plans to focus on growing the information services businesses that make up a significant portion of ACS’s revenue. He hopes to facilitate a successful transition to hybrid work and bolster staff engagement after the tumultuous years of the pandemic. “That's obviously something that I want to work closely with the executive leadership team on,” Horvath says. “How do we continue to help people around the society feel positive about their place here?”   

I don't really know very much about Mr. Horvath, so I guess I will reserve judgment. I do think it is interesting that we've gone from folks with a chemistry/chemical engineering background (Madeleine Jacobs and Thomas Connelly) to a non-chemist/scientific organization administrator. Developing...