Ed Kahan

Eduardo T. Kahan (November 21, 1952 – March 13, 2010) was an executive at IBM for 26 years. He was named a distinguished engineer in 1997 and awarded the designation of IBM Fellow in 2005. Kahan was the Chief Architect and CTO of the IBM Software Group, Enterprise Integration and was a certified consultant and an active member of the IBM Academy of Technology. His responsibilities included strategy development, design, and development of advanced technologies for Web Services, service oriented architectures, and enterprise integration products, tools, and solutions for IBM clients.

Kahan developed the IBM Architecture Description Standard (ADS), used by the IBM WW technical community, and authored the IBM Software Development Method.

Personal life

Kahan was born in Ponta Grossa, Brazil, on November 21, 1952, to Israel and Hilda Cohen. When he was nine, his family moved to Israel. Later they joined a Kibbutz (an agricultural, business and social co-op) called Ein Harod where he spent most of his teenage years, and until completing his Israeli army service at 21. Kahan and his family wanted him to have an education more advanced than what the kibbutz area high school could provide, so he attended ORT Singalovski school in Tel Aviv, two hours away, where he had to room and board.

Kahan was a diligent student. Several English-proficient students were asked to interview with a visiting Canadian women's group from Toronto ORT to become the spokesperson for their organization and travel to Canada to speak to their ORT groups. They selected Kahan and welcomed him into the homes of the members in Toronto. The women offered to sponsor him for college in Toronto after his high school and army service. Kahan accepted and earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Ryerson Polytechnic. In 1981, he moved to Houston, Texas. Kahan married Judy Schiff Kahan and had a son Daniel, and a daughter Michelle.

Kahan died at age 57 on March 13, 2010, at his residence in Orlando following a short, intense battle with cancer.

Career Kahan started his career with Bruel and Kjaer in Denmark in acoustic, vibration, and signal analysis research in Europe and US. His special research interests involved the effect of vibration on humans in industrial settings (hand, arm, and whole-body vibration) and the link between business models and technology.

On joining IBM in 1984 in Houston, Kahan worked on engineering design systems, manufacturing systems, and many complex business systems for IBM clients worldwide.

Kahan held systems engineering, development, and teaching positions in IBM divisions.

As one of the lead company architects, Kahan developed the IBM Architecture Description Standard (ADS), used by the IBM WW technical community, and authored the IBM Software Development Method.

At the peak of his career in IBM, Kahan was the Chief Architect and CTO of the IBM Software Group, Enterprise Integration. Kahan was a certified consultant and an active member of the IBM Academy of Technology.

Kahan spent two years (2007–2009) on assignment in IBM Israel Software Lab (ILSL), before he returned to the US. During those years in Israel, Kahan became a mentor to many in the lab, influenced ILSL technical directions, and helped drive new customer engagements.

Kahan worked as an executive at IBM for 26 years.