Ronald Posner Is WordStar’s New CEO

Ronald S. Posner, the former president and chief executive of Peter Norton Computing in Santa Monica, has been named chief executive of WordStar International Inc., a San Francisco Bay Area software publisher.

The company, whose WordStar software program was once the top-selling word-processing package for personal computers, said Posner’s appointment was a prelude to future management changes at the faltering concern.

While at Peter Norton Computing, Posner helped prepare the company for an eventual takeover. Posner was also a senior executive at Ansa prior to its takeover by Borland International.

Posner said Tuesday that while he does not rule out the possibility that WordStar may be acquired as well, he said his strategy is to strengthen the company by making it an active buyer of smaller software publishers.

Since leaving Norton Computing earlier this year, Posner has consulted with a variety of troubled personal computer software companies. He was working with WordStar prior to being asked to assume its helm.