IFIP President Anthony Wong has congratulated Daljit Rehal on his election as the new President of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.

The Chief Digital and Information Officer for the UK’s HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), Daljit was announced as the new BCS President earlier this month. He takes over from Alastair Revell, who will remain active as the BCS’s Immediate Past President.

He will be ably supported by new BCS Deputy President, Sarah Winmill, who is Head of Software Products at the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD).

IFIP President, Anthony Wong, welcomed the election result, saying he looks forward to working closely with the new BCS executive in the coming months. 

“The British Computer Society was one of 14 national societies that met in Rome back in 1960 to formally establish IFIP and BCS continues to play a significant role in IFIP today. We look forward to continuing that close and rewarding partnership,” he said. “

In announcing his presidency, Daljit thanked his Alastair Revell for his commitment to establishing the highly successful Chartered Week during his BCS presidential year, saying he hopes to continue that outstanding work in partnership with Sarah. 

“Chartered professionals – which ever industry they work in – make a public commitment to ethics, competence and accountability by meeting independent standards. Nowhere is that more important in technology where AI is woven into our lives like never before in areas from health to finance.

“My focus as BCS President will continue this theme – helping to build public trust in the value of tech professionals, and their ongoing development in roles across the public and private sector. We know that the AI Opportunities Action Plan aims to create tens of thousands of new AI professionals by 2030, and we will need a range of routes to get there from university degrees to apprenticeships, as well as prioritising diversity. It will be a huge year for the professional body and for our membership community.”

Immediate Past President of BCS Alastair Revell said: “Daljit’s experience’s gives our community a powerful voice at time when public confidence in the transformational power of technology is vital.

“We can be proud to have the combined experience and insight of both Daljit and Sarah to call on to represent our values and mission to make IT Good for Society.”

Sarah Winmill said: “I look forward to supporting Daljit in continuing to build public trust in the professionalism of our membership and in inspiring a new generation of technologists with the technical skills and capability to balance ethics and accountability whilst making best use of emerging technologies.”