NATION

Jay Wurts has been appointed chief executive and chairman of Symbolics, an artificial intelligence company headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., and with operations in Chatsworth. Ronald L. Derry, who had been serving as president and chief executive pending completion by the board of its search, will continue to serve as president and a director. Wurts was a founder of Management Decision Systems and served as its president and chief executive from 1979 until 1985, when MDS was acquired by Information Resources Inc. for $47 million. Since he left MDS, Wurts has invested in and currently serves on the board of several high-technology start-up companies.