Former Rockwell Official Named Boss at Computer Software Firm in Tustin

TUSTIN —  Seymour Rubenstein, a veteran Rockwell executive who formerly headed the firm’s huge space shuttle and space station operations, has been named chief operating officer at Quality Systems Inc., a small computer software company in Tustin.

Rubenstein, 51, said that he had “a good association with Rockwell” and that he left the company in December to pursue the opportunity with Quality Systems.

Rubenstein said that he “felt this was a good time to be operating in the commercial environment” and added that the health-care industry--the primary market for Quality Systems’ computerized management systems--has particularly strong growth prospects.

A 30-year veteran of Rockwell, Rubenstein had been president of the El Segundo-based aerospace firm’s Space Station Systems Division and the 10,000-employee Space Transportation Systems division, which makes the shuttle. Rubenstein was a principal designer of the shuttle. Most recently, he had been president for advanced systems at Rockwell’s Strategic Defense Center in Seal Beach, which works on the troubled “Star Wars” missile defense program.

Quality Systems, which sells computers built by other manufacturers and packages them with its own software, has annual revenues of about $10 million.

Rubenstein will report to Sheldon Razin, Quality Systems’ chairman and president. The two have known each other since they were students together at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1959.

Rubenstein noted that although Rockwell is a large corporation, his management positions there were with operating groups that were growing rapidly. He said he hopes that Quality Systems can accelerate its growth by moving more strongly into the medical office market from its base of dental offices, but it is too early to make specific projections, he said.

“I have known of this company for a number of years, and this was an exciting opportunity,” Rubenstein said.

Besides electrical engineering degrees from MIT and New York University, Rubenstein holds a master of business administration degree from Cal State Fullerton.

Known as an expert in advanced computer systems such as those used on the shuttle, he has received the NASA Distinguished Public Service Award, the NASA Medal for Exceptional Engineering Achievement and the Engineer of the Year award from the Orange County Engineering Counsel.