Quark Inc announced that Raymond Schiavone, a veteran software company chief executive officer and former General Electric executive  has joined the company as president and chief executive officer. Acting president Linda Chase will remain with the company in her ongoing capacity as senior vice president of enterprise products.

On the occasion, Quark chairman of the board Farah “Sasha” Ebrahimi said, “This important change signals a new era for Quark. We are excited to bring in professional management of the calibre of Ray Schiavone. He has exactly what we need to aggressively take Quark to the next level.”

“Quark remains the best-of-breed choice for the creative professional, as demonstrated by our recent QuarkXPress 7 release,” said Schiavone. “Over the coming years, our customers will see us not only growing our product line, but also providing additional value through expanded strategic partnerships and focus on customer service and support. We will continue to lead the industry by bringing innovative solutions to market and providing state-of-the-art tools for creative professionals.”

Prior to joining Quark, Schiavone was president and CEO of Arbortext, Inc. A graduate of GE's prestigious Corporate Audit Staff and Information Management Leadership programs, he holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Science degree from Syracuse University. Schiavone is also a board member at the University of Maryland Engineering School.