LOS ANGELES COUNTY - News from Sept. 17, 1985

Irwin Rubin stepped aside as chairman of Computer Memories Inc., a beleaguered Chatsworth-based disk-drive manufacturer that is scrambling to find business in the wake of IBM’s decision last month not to renew its contract with the company. Rubin, 58, who becomes vice chairman, will be replaced as chairman by Finis Conner. Conner, 41, was a co-founder of Seagate Technology, a Scotts Valley-based disk-drive company, where he had served as vice chairman until last October.

Rubin said that it was his decision to bring in Conner and that he had not been asked to step aside either by Computer Memories’ board of directors or Intel Corp., the company’s largest shareholder with slightly less than 20% of the shares. “We needed someone in the company who could help us through this rather difficult period,” Rubin said. The IBM contract accounted for 81% of Computer Memories’ $50.5 million in revenue for the first quarter ended June 30.