Tips for introducing a speaker
The long and boring introductions that you've noticed are probably due to people simply reading off the "speaker biography" paragraph that is typically included with a talk announcement. That, in turn, is usually prepared with little thought by the speaker, often by grabbing a recent bio blurb from a proposal or their website. Thus: boring list of dates and awards.
My personal preference is to ask the speaker how they would like to be introduced and to keep things quite short: any good speaker will begin their talk with a high-level perspective on their technical vision and work in any case.
I find TIQS very helpful here (found it online, Dale Carnegie Training I think, also recommend spending only 60 seconds for the introduction):
- T - The topic or title
- I - Importance to the audience
- Q - Qualification of the Speaker
- S - Speaker's Name
In general, have the audience in mind. They want to know that they are in the right place, hearing about an important topic (for them!), the person who presents is knowledgeable (key points, not a full CV!), and who that person is (name). So yeah, 60 seconds are a good guide.
Of course, it also depends on the context (you likely have to thank certain people, their contributions, esp. those "little green men and women" whose work you don't see as an audience member, or sponsors) and the speaker (what does this person want the audience to know about him/her).