Checkfree Corp. has established and filled a chief technologist post as part of an effort to better organize its electronic commerce operations and development programs.
Ravi Ganesan, 30, a telecommunications expert, will be responsible for charting the technology course of rapidly expanding Checkfree. He will play an integral role in merging Checkfree's software application platforms with those of Intuit Services Corp., which was acquired late last year.
"My goal is to shape the way the company is going," said Mr. Ganesan, who was also named executive vice president of retail software development at the Norcross, Ga., company.
"The business is growing tremendously. ... We can't afford to thrash the organization around with every new technology."
A spokesman said Checkfree looked to the telecommunications industry to fill the job. "Telecommunications companies have also faced a myriad of choices and have placed a premium on choosing the right ones," he said. "We want to stay focused on the right technologies."
As chief technology officer, Mr. Ganesan will report to Checkfree's president and chief executive, Peter J. Kight. And as head of retail software development he will report to Peter F. Sinisgalli, chief operating officer, and oversee operations and the architectural development of Checkfree's electronic commerce software.
One of his first duties will be combining certain software applications and platforms of companies Checkfree has acquired in the last year or so.
"You have to make sure that you have an application that is not just functional but robust," said Mr. Ganesan. "We will build the software for manageability, operability, and scalability."
A native of India, Mr. Ganesan holds a doctorate in computer science from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He also holds several U.S. patents related to electronic encryption and security.
