CIMA appoints new president

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) has appointed Simon Bittlestone, FCMA, CGMA, as 91st president of the Institute.

He will also serve as ninth chair of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.

He is a business leader with experience in both private and public companies and in the US, UK, and Asian market.

He currently holds a portfolio of advisory and non-executive roles for several technology businesses, investment funds, and charities.

His business career includes working for 12 years in the financial analytics industry, a decade of which he spent as CEO of Metapraxis, a finance technology company based in London and New York with a global blue-chip customer base.

Bittlestone first became a CIMA member in 2009 and was admitted to fellowship in 2016, he has been an active ambassador and supporter of CIMA over the last decade.

During his year in office, the focus of the profession will be on three critical areas; innovation and transformation, value and sustainability and inclusion and opportunity.

In this role, Bittlestone will work closely with Carla M. McCall, CPA, CGMA, who serves as co-chair of the Association and Chair of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA).

Bittlestone said: “The world is ripe with opportunities for the accounting and finance profession to create sustainable value, innovate and be inclusive. Despite prevailing uncertainty in the world, these are exciting times for our profession and over the next year I intend to help accelerate and lead its continuous evolution to make the most of these possibilities.

“It is a great honour to serve the profession and I want to say a huge thank you to CIMA members for putting their trust in me to act as CIMA President and Chair of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.”