Sandra Kurtzig, the founder and former chief...

Sandra Kurtzig, the founder and former chief executive of Ask Computer Systems and one of the first women to run a high-technology firm, said she has returned to the helm of the Mountain View company after a four-year break to pursue other interests.

The move came just two weeks after Ask, which makes computer systems for manufacturing companies, announced that sales have slowed, and earnings for the current quarter are expected to dip below those of the prior year’s quarter.

Kurtzig, 42, said she had resumed her previous duties as chairman, president and chief executive of the 17-year-old company because “the board felt I had the ability to put a strategy in place to grow the company.”

Kurtzig left the company’s top position in mid-1985 to devote more time to her two sons, then 12 and 9 years old.

Ronald W. Braniff, 49, who had served as president and chief executive since July, 1985, was named vice chairman of the board and will remain as a full-time adviser to the company.

Ask’s shares have slid in the last eight months from about $18 per share to around $8. The shares closed at $9.125 Tuesday in over-the-counter trading, up 12.5 cents.