Jayaram Balachander Named Vice President, Software Engineering At Viacom

Business Wire, Jan 7, 1999

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 7, 1999--Jayaram "Bala" Balachander has joined Viacom Inc. as Vice President, Software Engineering, for infoworks, the Company's technology services arm.

Mr. Balachander reports to Ruby Walia, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Architecture, Research and Online/Interactive Services, infoworks, and will be responsible for introducing new software development technologies for business applications at the Company. He will work closely with Peter Pollack, Vice President of Worldwide Architecture and Research, infoworks, in identifying and selecting new technologies and will also be responsible for the Rights Management System, a legal database used to track rights and manage artists' contracts, at Viacom's Showtime and MTV Networks divisions.

"Bala brings extensive experience in software engineering, object-oriented analysis and design, distributed computing, and client server and Internet application experience to Viacom," said Mr. Walia.

Before joining Viacom, Mr. Balachander served as a software consultant for Merrill Lynch, RSG Systems, Showtime, MTV Networks and Commerce Clearing House-Legal Information Services. From 1989 to 1992, he was a software engineer for Coromandel Industries, Inc. in New York. He earned a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering from Tulane University, and a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science in India.

Viacom Inc. is one of the world's largest entertainment companies and is a leading force in nearly every segment of the international media marketplace. The operations of Viacom include Blockbuster, MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Television, Paramount Parks, Showtime Networks, Simon & Schuster, 18 television stations, and movie screens in 12 countries. Viacom also owns approximately 80 percent of Spelling Entertainment Group, as well as a half-interest in Comedy Central, UPN and UCI. National Amusements, Inc., a closely held corporation which operates approximately 1,200 screens in the U.S., the U.K. and South America, is the parent company of Viacom. More information about Viacom is available at the Company's Web site located at http://www.viacom.com.