March 2015 - 9

FROM THE CEO
The American Contract
Bridge League
President
Suzi Subeck
Chair, Board of Directors
Phyllis Harlan
Chief Executive Officer
Robert Hartman
ACBL Counsel
Peter Rank
Chair, Board of Governors
Richard Anderson

Board of Directors
District 1 * Leo Weniger
District 2 * Paul Janicki
District 3 * Glenda Calkins
District 4 * Craig Robinson
District 5 * Sharon Fairchild
District 6 * Margot Hennings
District 7 * Bob Heller
District 8 * Georgia Heth
District 9 * Jay Whipple III
District 10 * Russ Jones
District 11 * A. Beth Reid
District 12 * Dennis Carman
District 13 * Suzi Subeck
District 14 * Sharon Anderson
District 15 * Phyllis Harlan
District 16 * Dan E. Morse
District 17 * Bonnie Bagley
District 18 * Claire Jones
District 19 * Donald Mamula
District 20 * Merlin Vilhauer
District 21 * Roger Smith
District 22 * Ken Monzingo
District 23 * Rand Pinsky
District 24 * Alvin Levy
District 25 * Richard DeMartino

Technology matters

Keeping	up	with	technology	-	especially	when	you're	in	a	seemingly	low-tech	
"business"	like	bridge	-	has	its	challenges.
Thanks	to	not-so-cutting-edge	innovations	such	as	electricity	and	microprocessors,	the	ACBL	has	already	come	a	long	way:	Computerized	game	set-up	and	
results,	machine-dealt	boards	accompanied	by	hand	
records	and	wireless	scoring	devices	have	greatly	
improved	the	overall	bridge	experience.	There's	
more,	however,	that	we	can	do	to	improve	club	and	
tournament	processes.
A	new	technology	committee	has	been	created	
to	focus	on	those	opportunities	and	offer	guidance	
as	to	how	best	to	serve	ACBL	members	moving	
forward.	We're	grateful	that	three	respected	professionals	(techno-experts	who	just	happen	to	play	
bridge)	accepted	my	invitation	to	be	part	of	this	
group.
Greg	Humphreys	is	a	software	engineer	at	Google.	
He	built	the	Bridge	Winners	website	-	a	popular	
online	community	for	bridge	players.	Formerly	a	professor	of	computer	science	
at	the	University	of	Virginia,	Greg	lives	in	Charlottesville	VA.
Uday	Ivatury	is	one	of	the	programming	powers	behind	Bridge	Base	Online;	
he	is	also	a	partner	in	the	company.	Uday,	who	lives	in	New	York	City,	has	been	
in	the	tech	business	for	a	long	time.	In	1993,	he	co-founded	one	of	the	earliest	
Internet	service	providers	in	the	U.S.
Ralph	Lipe	was	a	software	architect	for	Microsoft	for	nearly	20	years.	He	
holds	numerous	patents	and	is	credited	with	the	design	of	much	of	the	architecture	underlying	Windows	3.0	and	later	versions.	Ralph	lives	in	Bellevue	WA.
This	is	truly	an	"A"	team,	and	the	League	is	grateful	to	have	these	men	volunteering	their	time	and	expertise	to	serve	on	this	committee.
Three	tech-savy	ACBL	board	members	bring	their	expertise	to	the	proceedings,	as	well:	Russ	Jones,	District	10;	Merlin	Vilhauer,	District	20;	and	Jay	
Whipple	III,	District	9.	Three	ACBL	staffers	round	out	the	committee.
At	its	first	meeting,	the	group	brainstormed	the	first	wave	of	subjects	and	
divided	into	subcommittees	to	research	and	tackle	projects	such	as	ACBLscore	
and	the	entry-buying	process	at	clubs	and	tournaments.	
Even	as	the	committee	explores	how	to	best	integrate	current	technologies	
into	today's	operations,	we're	looking	to	the	future.	Part	of	our	work	together	is	
imagining:	What	will	a	tournament	in	2030	be	like?	What	capabilities	should	
the	ACBL	be	developing	that	will	best	serve	
members	and	clubs	in	the	years	ahead?	It	
is	not	only	fun	to	ponder	these	things,	it	is	
essential.

To contact a district director,
visit www.acbl.org/boardofdirectors.

March 2015 Bridge Bulletin

9
http://www.acbl.org/boardofdirectors
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2015
