LISP Names New Chief

LISP Machine Inc., Los Angeles, which manufactures computers and software for research in the arcane field of artificial intelligence, Friday named a former Digital Equipment Corp. executive as its chairman and chief executive.

Ward D. MacKenzie, 46, former group vice president of the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and business computer groups at DEC, will succeed LISP founder F. Stephen Wyle, who will become vice-chairman. Wyle, 42, said the shift in positions will enable him to concentrate on long-range strategies and take a more entrepreneurial role.

Frank Spitznogle will remain president and chief operating officer.

MacKenzie’s appointment comes at a time when the 5-year-old company is bringing an increasing number of products to market. The technology “is already providing cost-effective solutions in a variety of real-world applications,” Wyle said, “and as a result the LISP Machine market is rapidly evolving.” MacKenzie’s experience “will enable (the company) to meet the challenges of this changing market,” he said.

CALIFORNIA

C. David Burgin, editor of the Orlando Sentinel in Florida, was named editor of the San Francisco Examiner, an afternoon paper owned by Hearst Corp. with circulation of 151,758.

Burgin, 45, was picked for the job by Examiner Publisher William R. Hearst III and will succeed David Halvorsen, whom Hearst said is evaluating other assignments within the media company.

Burgin, who last year turned down the editorship of the New York Daily News, actually will move from a larger paper--the Sentinel’s circulation is 245,194--to take over the Examiner, which has been losing circulation in recent years.