TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Wordperfect Names New President, CEO: Alan Ashton, co-founder of Wordperfect Corp., will step down as president and chief executive to focus on long-term strategic issues, the company announced. Ashton will be succeeded by Adrian Rietveld, 39, senior vice president of sales and marketing, on Jan. 1. Ashton will join co-founder Bruce Bastian as a co-chairman. Rietveld has spent 22 years in the computer industry. Since becoming the Orem, Utah-based company’s head of marketing more than a year ago, Rietveld has been one of its chief strategists.