IT services provider, TUSC, has recently appointed IT&T industry veteran John Gugel as general manager of its telecommunications business. Gugel has a strong combination of IT and telecommunications industry expertise plus senior management experience gained at Dexterra, Telstra, Price Waterhouse, Amcor and ANL.He replaces Rod Bower, who intends to retire by the end of the year after eight years of service.  As a part of a transition program, Bower will provide hands-on support and advice to Gugel until his retirement, and will then be available to provide consultancy services as needed.

Infosys Australia executive director and second in command, Ananda Rao, has left the IT services provider to start a new global information management and solutions group, Benchmark Group Holdings, which will be headquartered in Melbourne.

Listed IT services provider, Oakton Limited, has enlisted a new recruit for its Melbourne office. Mark Roworth will look after the Microsoft solutions. Roworth has joined Microsoft Package Solutions as the regional service line manager for Victoria.  He has more than 12 years experience in the IT and management consulting industry with a majority of that time being spent at KPMG Consulting and more recently Fujitsu Australia Limited.  In recent years Mark has been heavily focused on consulting practice development including the establishment of CRM and e-business lines at KPMG and Fujitsu and will now focus on the continued build of the Oakton MPS business."

Joe Tuccie is to reign supreme at storage giant EMC Corporation, taking over as chairman of the board of directors, effective January 1, 2006.  Tucci will also continue to serve as president and chief executive officer of EMC, giving him absolute control of the company.

Business intelligence specialist Information Builders has appointed two new staff members for its Sydney and Melbourne offices. Justin Doherty has been appointed professional services manager in Sydney and Dianne Shepherd, operations manager in Melbourne. Doherty has over eight years experience with companies such as Global 360 and Vignette, while Shepherd has solid technology industry experience following a number of years with leading technology companies like QSP Asia Pacific and Boss Software,

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) specialist, GLiNTECH has expanded into a second Australian office in Melbourne and appointed Grant Dousset as its principal consultant. Dousset has held previous roles as a lead architect in companies spanning markets such as logistics, natural resources, public sector, telecommunications and manufacturing.

Australian search engine company, Ansearch has appointed Karl Morris as national sales manager of Ansearch’s online search and media advertising division, soush. Morris held senior sales management and operational responsibilities during his four years with Sensis’s search and online display advertising businesses. He was most recently responsible for Sensis’s sales across Australia’s southern states.

Software security firm, Centennial Software,  has announced the appointment of Tina Zhao as marketing and sales executive for the Asia Pacific Region, based in Sydney. Zhao joins Centennial Software from Galas Electronics, having previously held positions in account management and as an IT marketing specialist.

Business intelligence vendor, Business Objects Australia, has appointed Helen Masters to the position of sales manager, Northern Region. Masters joins Business Objects with more than two decades of experience working for companies ranging from start ups to well-known global brands.  Prior to joining Business Objects, she was employed by Computer Associates for over 9 years and worked in roles including northern region sales director, strategic accounts manager, divisional vice president – channels, national client service manager and key account manager. Before Computer Associates, Masters worked for Citadel Computer Systems as its Asia Pacific sales director.  She also served as a sales executive for Computron Technology, a business analyst for Computalk Pty Ltd, a sales support manager for AWA Computers and as a branch manager and national product manager for MAI Basic Four.

NewLease, a distributor of “by the month” software licences and services, has announced the appointment of Mike Clarke as chief executive officer. Clarke has more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience in the IT sector, and has worked across Australia, the UK and Asia. He has previously held the positions of general manager for NetStar, managing director of 3Com Australia and New Zealand, regional director for Lotus IBM in Singapore and marketing director for Lotus in Australia.

Enterprise software and services company, Mincom Limited has appointed Lieutenant-General, William (Bill) Leach as vice president Mincom Defence. Leach will help drive the company's defence-related activities in the United States and Canada.