Rockwell President to Retire; Vice President to Succeed Him

The president of Rockwell International Corp.’s telecommunications unit will retire at the end of the year, to be replaced by a company vice president, Rockwell announced Thursday.

A.E. (Lanny) Ross, 60, has been president of Rockwell’s telecommunications business unit since the start of 1993, overseeing an expansion of its commercial sales as Rockwell tries to move away from its traditional reliance on military contracts.

His replacement, Dwight W. Decker, 45, has been vice president of the unit’s digital communications division, a post he began at the same time that Ross had taken over as president. Decker worked his way through several related positions, and holds a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Caltech. He joined Rockwell in 1989.