Study the following information carefully and answer the questions given below.

Eight professionals—A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H—are seated in a straight line facing North. Each of them holds a different position in a corporation, namely Director, Vice President, General Manager, Senior Analyst, Consultant, Associate, Specialist, and Executive.

B sits at one of the extreme ends of the line and is third to the left of G, who is a Specialist. Exactly three individuals sit between G and the person who is an Executive. D is adjacent to G and sits second to the right of A. A total of five persons sit between A and H, who is the General Manager. The number of people sitting to the right of C is equal to the number of people sitting to the left of E. C is not an Executive. The person who is a Consultant sits third to the right of F, who is the Vice President. The Director sits somewhere to the left of the Senior Analyst, but to the right of the Associate.

Who among the following holds the position of Associate in the corporation?

The correct answer is C.

Step-by-Step Educational Solution:

Let eight positions in a straight line facing North be numbered from 1 to 8 from left to right.

1. Position of H and A:
A total of 5 persons sit between A and H (who is the General Manager). In an 8-person line, having 5 persons between two individuals means they must occupy positions 1 and 7.
Since B sits at one of the extreme ends (position 8), position 1 is occupied by H and position 7 is occupied by A:
• Position 1: H (General Manager)
• Position 7: A

2. Position of D and G:
D sits two places away to the left of A. Since A is at position 7, we calculate D's position as:
$7-2=5$
Thus, D is at position 5.
D is adjacent to G (who is a Specialist). This places G at position 4:
• Position 4: G (Specialist)
• Position 5: D

3. Position of B and the Executive:
Exactly three individuals sit between G (position 4) and the person who is an Executive. Moving 4 positions to the right gives:
$4+4=8$
Therefore, B sits at position 8 and is the Executive:
• Position 8: B (Executive)

4. Position of F and the Consultant:
The person who is a Consultant sits third to the right of F, who is the Vice President.
With positions 1, 4, 5, 7, and 8 occupied, the available positions are 2, 3, and 6. Placing F at position 2 gives:
$2+3=5$
This matches position 5 (D) as the Consultant.
• Position 2: F (Vice President)
• Position 5: D (Consultant)

5. Positions of C and E:
The remaining positions to be filled are 3 and 6.
We are given that the number of people to the right of C equals the number of people to the left of E.
Placing C at position 3 leaves 5 people to C's right (positions 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).
Placing E at position 6 leaves 5 people to E's left (positions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
Since:
$5=5$
C is at position 3 and E is at position 6:
• Position 3: C
• Position 6: E

6. Roles of C, E, and A:
The three roles remaining to be assigned are Director, Senior Analyst, and Associate to positions 3 (C), 6 (E), and 7 (A).
We are given that the Director sits to the left of the Senior Analyst, but to the right of the Associate.
Ordering these positions from left to right (Position 3 < Position 6 < Position 7):
• Position 3 (C): Associate
• Position 6 (E): Director
• Position 7 (A): Senior Analyst

Final Seating Arrangement:
• Position 1: H (General Manager)
• Position 2: F (Vice President)
• Position 3: C (Associate)
• Position 4: G (Specialist)
• Position 5: D (Consultant)
• Position 6: E (Director)
• Position 7: A (Senior Analyst)
• Position 8: B (Executive)

Thus, C holds the position of Associate in the corporation.