An Indian American woman has been named co-president of a prestigious information technology (IT) research laboratory in the US, according to The Wall Street Journal, reports IANS. Arati Prabhakar, 40, is now co-president, along with Douglas Solomon, at the Interval Research Corp. based in Palo Alto, which was established by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen. Prabhakar, a former director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the US commerce department, had been serving as vice-president at Interval. Before that, she was vice-president and chief technology officer at Raychem.

Prabhakar will head a technology group and Solomon will head a business development group. Prabhakar said Interval will continue to pursue some fundamental research topics, but will venture into more practical areas such as advanced television set-top-box architecture and design concepts for high-bandwidth Websites.

According to the Journal, Alleninstituted changes at Interval to move away from fundamental research into more practical applications related to the growth of the Internet and the need for high-speed Internet connections.Founded in 1992, Interval employs about 100 researchers and 60 other staff and support employees. Prabhakar said she did not anticipate any sudden staff changes as a result of the shift in emphasis, although she said the research staff would acquire more of a ``development'' orientation over time.

Allen said the structural moves reflected a shift to ``more specific product-development areas, specifically in broadband communications''.

Allen has invested $100 million in the company since its founding.

Rajiv Shah joins HFCL as CEO

Rajiv Shah has joined HFCL as chief executive officer (CEO) of the software development division. He will be responsible for developing the strategy and business plan of HFCL's new IT initiative. Prior to joining HFCL, Shah was chief operating officer (COO) at EDS-India, a globalinformation technology company. He was responsible for establishing EDS' presence in India. He started his career with EDS in the US and has worked in a variety of industries and assignments. Shah has a Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Gujarat University and a Master's, also in mechanical engineering, from the University of Missouri-Rolla, the US.

Sawhney is MD, ESPN Software

The Board of Directors of ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd has unanimously appointed Manu Sawhney as its managing director. Sawhney now heads the management of the company, which oversees the distribution and marketing of two network services, namely ESPN India and STAR Sports India. Sawhney was previously the vice-president of sales and marketing at ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd.

Sawhney's experience includes setting up the complete regional distribution infrastructure for STAR Sports as an encrypted service.

In the marketing arena, Sawhney conceptualised and implemented the brand positioning strategy for boththe ESPN and STAR Sports brands through print, radio, outdoor and direct marketing activities. He also initiated and launched `Playzone' in India, the company's most successful on-ground marketing programme. Sawhney succeeds R K Singh who was the CEO of ESPN Software India. He graduated from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) in New Delhi with a Master's in international business. He also has a Bachelor's in mechanical engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani.

A K Churiwala chairman of IWMF

A K Churiwala, CMD of BSL Ltd, has been elected chairman of the Indian Woollen Mills Federation (IWMF) for the year, 1999-2000. IWMF was set up in 1963 to promote the woollen culture in India. The body comprises members from the production and processing segments of the woollen fabrics industry in India. The objective of this federation is to encourage and motivate consumers to purchase woollen fabrics and thereby increase the sale of woollen garments.

Rajan Varma joinsCarrier India as VP & CFO

The Board of Directors of Carrier Aircon Ltd recently announced the appointment of Rajan Varma as vice-president and chief financial officer of Carrier Aircon Ltd. Varma will be responsible for the overall financial functions for the India region. Coordination of the annual business plans, analyses of forecasts, assessments of risks and opportunities, control and accounting activities, compliance with local tax and regulatory laws, compliance with US, GAAP and statutory reporting requirements, treasury functions and IT activities will be part of Varma's work task.

M K Chandrasekharan is COO, Mandayal Computing

M K Chandrasekharan has been appointed chief operating officer (COO), Mandayal Computing Pvt. Ltd and Technowledge Consultants, and chief executive officer (CEO), Institute de Informatica. Chandrasekharan has 28 years of experience in the information technology field. He was the general manager (communications and IT) for the Samtel group of companies for overtwo years. He also functioned as the CIO, reporting to the chairman of the group.

At Mandayal and Technowledge Consultants, he will be responsible for getting in place a quality change in the group companies, besides taking charge of areas in management such as HR, technical support, internal systems and administration.

New appointment for A K Kalmankar

A K Kalmankar has taken over as the chief general manager, State Bank of India (SBI), north-eastern circle. Kalmankar, who joined the bank as a probationary officer in 1968, has held various important assignments in the bank, including that of a faculty member of the State Bank Staff College, Hyderabad, and manager (credit) at the commercial branch, Mumbai.

Before joining the north-eastern circle, Kalmankar was holding the charge of general manager (development and personal banking) at the local head office of SBI in Mumbai.

Sainsbury is new executive chef, Hyatt Regency Delhi

Mark Ian Sainsbury is the new executive chef at HyattRegency Delhi. He earlier worked with Hyatt Regency, Perth. Sainsbury brings with him an extensive repertoire of talent and expertise, which ranges from holding cocktail events for British royalty to catering for the troops after the Falkland War in 1984. After completing his secondary education in Bedford and Dorset, Chef Sainsbury attended the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology, the Royal Air Force Schools of Catering and the Royal Air Force Ulvington Field Catering Schools. He has also attended the restaurant skills course at the Savoy Training Centre and the Perth Japanese cooking course.