CALIFORNIA - News from Jan. 16, 1986

M. Kenneth Oshman, 45, who co-founded Rolm Corp. in 1968, has resigned as president of the Santa Clara-based communications equipment maker that was acquired by International Business Machines in 1984.

Oshman will remain a consultant to Rolm and IBM and will be succeeded as president by Dennis Paboojian, 42, who has been vice president of Rolm’s systems development group, the company said.

Rolm builds high-technology switchboards and other equipment for the voice and data communications business. Among other things, its equipment helps IBM computers communicate with each other.

IBM has been careful not to interfere with the free-wheeling style of the Silicon Valley company, but some analysts speculated that some other executives who were loyal to Oshman might follow him out the door.