Business optimisation software vendor, Mercury Interactive, has appointed Graham Sowden as president of Asia Pacific, based in Sydney. Sowden has served as managing director for Mercury's Australia operations since 2000. He has more than 16 years of experience in the enterprise software and technology industry. Prior to Mercury, Sowden was managing director of Progress Software, a provider of embedded database software technology, for two and a half years. Prior to joining Progress Software, Sowden was a ten-year veteran at Fujitsu (UK) where he headed up various customer support, sales management and general management roles. He joined Mercury in 2000 to lead its Australian operations. In his new role, Sowden will oversee the APAC region, not including Japan. He replaces former Japan and Asia Pacific president Wilson Tan.