Professor Brian Fitzgerald, director of Lero, the Irish Software Research Centre, has been elected president of the international Association for Information Systems (AIS). He is the first Irish person to be elected to the role and will serve a three-year term.

Headquartered in Atlanta, USA, the AIS is a global professional association for individuals and organisations who lead the research, teaching, practice and study of information systems worldwide. It comprises almost 5,000 members globally and runs four international conferences annually.

Professor Fitzgerald maintains his role as head of University of Limerick headquartered, Lero, an SFI research centre which harnesses software researchers from nine third level institutions including all of the Republic of Ireland’s universities. Its work incorporates a wide range of software development from driverless cars and automation to artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

Current AIS president, Professor Ting-Peng Liang, Director of E-Commerce Center of National Sun Yat-Sen University in Taiwan commented, “Lero has a well-earned reputation as one of the primary software research centres in the world and Brian’s record and experience in the sector will be an invaluable asset to the association.”

Commenting on his election Professor Fitzgerald said, “It is an honour to be elected to this prestigious role and reflects Ireland’s growing reputation as a global technology centre.”

Roscommon born Professor Fitzgerald has been involved with the Science Foundation Ireland supported Lero national research centre since its inception in 2005, apart from a spell as vice-president research at UL from 2008-2011. 

Prior to taking up an academic position, Professor Fitzgerald worked in the software industry for over a decade in a variety of sectors including finance, telecommunications, manufacturing and bespoke software development in Ireland, Belgium and Germany.