Tandem Hires Digital Equipment Exec

Tandem Computers Inc. named Pauline Nist to help run its product-development effort, the second Digital Equipment Corp. executive it has hired in less than four months. Nist, who was responsible for product development and marketing of Digital’s Alpha server computers, will report to Enrico Pesatori, Tandem’s president and the former second-in-command at Digital. Pesatori resigned from Maynard, Mass.-based Digital in July because of the disappointing performance of the firm’s PC business, which he oversaw. Nist, as senior vice president and general manager of Tandem’s parallel-systems business unit, will oversee hardware and systems software development as well as product management and product marketing of the computer maker’s NonStop, Himalaya and Windows NT Server systems. Cupertino-based Tandem’s stock rose 12.5 cents to close at $13.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.