Former Bendigo council director Stan Liacos now Amicus chairman

The incoming chairman will be joined by registered nurse Leigh Svendsen, who is being appointed to the disability support group's board of directors.

Mr Liacos is best known in Bendigo for his 10 years as the council and his role as city futures director, where he became a high profile leader tasked with improving the city's livability and attracting high skilled residents.

The Bendigo Art Gallery expanded during his time as director and he oversaw projects like the Edward Street car park development and transformation of the city's jail into Ulumbarra Theatre.

More news: Memorial for flute maker, cyclist killed on road believed stolen

Mr Liacos did not stop living in Bendigo when he left the council in 2016 but did end up working in Melbourne as the chief executive of the Queen Victoria Market.

"This is a first chairmanship for me and I'm on a few other boards," he said.

"It's really exciting to come back and re-establish all of my business and community links here, in this place I love working in."

Ms Svendsen is a registered nurse who lives in the region and member of numerous boards including Disability Services IRC, Loddon Mallee Women's Health, Gender Equity Victoria, and Emily's List.

She will among other things bring insights as an advocate for progressive healthcare, chief executive Kevin Feeney said.

"Advocacy's so important, and not just to look out for people we have agreements with," he said of Amicus's clients.

"But also we want to help improve people's lives and part of that is advocacy, more generally within the disability sector."

The leadership appointments come in a period of change at Amicus, with long-time chair Paul Somerville stepping away with Amicus's heartfelt appreciation, the group said in a statement.

"Under his visionary leadership, Amicus has laid solid foundations for future growth and has helped lean into the Amicus mission to create opportunities to make impactful differences together, one person at a time," it said.

Your home for Bendigo business stories:

Amicus grew last decade in part because of the introduction of the National Disability Support Scheme (NDIS), which revolutionised the way people with disabilities accessed support.

Mr Feeney said Amicus was about far more than its NDIS work.

"That's too narrow a vision," he said.

"I'd like to think of us as an organisation that helps individuals overcome barriers to be part of the community, whatever they might be.

"That might be the NDIS today, but there are a whole range of ways that people can't yet get full enjoyment out of community engagement."

Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with the Bendigo Advertiser app. Click here to download.