Yahoo! India R&D has named Sharad Sharma as its new CEO.

Prior to joining Yahoo!, Sharma, a regular columninst with The Smart Techie, was involved in buyout activities focused on taking mid-sized software product companies private. Before that he was the India General Manager and corporate VP of Product Operations with Symantec (formerly VERITAS Software) and was responsible for the turnaround of VERITAS operations in India.

He is a regular columnist of siliconindia and the SmartTechie magazine.

Yahoo! Software Development India was set up in 2002. Working in tandem with its only research and development centre in the U.S, the Bangalore facility designs and develops a slew of products for the parent company's business units, worldwide.

One of the big thrust areas Sharma would be steering is the development of products for the emerging markets. India would be the hub for all such activities.

Venkat Panchpakesan, the current CEO, Yahoo! Software Development India will be moving back to the U.S. to take up a bigger role at Yahoo!