IBM <IBM> NAMES NEW PRESIDENT FOR ROLM UNIT
International Business Machines
Corp said IBM vice president Ray S. AbuZayyad has been named
president of its ROLM Corp subsidiary, succeeding Dennis D.
Paboojian, who remains with IBM as a consultant.
    The company said IBM vice president Paul R. Low has been
named president of the IBM General Products Division,
succeeding AbuZayyad, and IBM vice president Michael J. Attardo
has been named president of IBM's General Technology Division,
succeeding Low.
    A Rolm spokeswoman said Paboojian decided to step down for
personal reasons.
    His decision, she said, was not related to IBM's move last
month to merge Rolm's sales and service organization into its
own marketing corps.
    That merger was viewed by some analysts as reducing Rolm's
independence and relegating it to a role as a manufacturing and
product development site within IBM.
    "He wanted to take some personal time off," she said,
adding that Paboojian had taken part in the merger decision.
    Scores of Rolm veterans have left the company, which makes
telephone exchanges and other communications equipment, since
it was acquired by IBM in 1984.
    Rolm's highly respected founder, Ken Oshman, left more than
a year ago.
    Rolm and IBM customers have complained about a lack of
coordination between Rolm and IBM, and analysts estimate the
unit lost money last year.
    But the spokeswoman said Paboojian was "happy with the way
things are going with Rolm." She said the unit posted its best
fourth quarter revenues ever in the 1986 fourth quarter.
 Reuter
