ROLM HISTORY
ROLM as a company and a name has a very rich history. The technology company ROLM Corporation was founded in 1969 by Gene Richeson, Ken Oshman, Walter Loewenstern, and Robert Maxfield. The name was derived from the first letters of their last names. All four founders were engineering graduates of Rice University and earned advanced technical degrees at Stanford University. Leo Chamberlain became the soul of ROLM, advancing progressive workplace ideas such as GPW (Great Place to Work). The Old Ironsides Drive campus in Santa Clara, CA, was equipped with a swimming pool, rec center, shaded park areas, an all-day cafeteria, and tennis courts. It became the model for today’s Silicon Valley stalwarts. ROLM grew into a telecommunications giant over the next 15 years.
IBM, wishing to add telecommunications capability to its offerings, partnered with ROLM in 1983 and in 1984 bought it outright for $1.25 billion, the largest deal Silicon Valley had seen up till then. Simultaneously, ROLM Mil-Spec was sold to Loral Corporation. In 1989, IBM sold ROLM to Siemens AG, where the product line thrived and was eventually absorbed into Siemens brand names. ROLM telecommunications systems are still in use today, some 40 years later, a testament to ROLM’s high quality. The ROLM name was kept alive through ROLM Resale and other third-party companies that refurbished and serviced ROLM phones and phone systems.
In 2022, Mark A. Daley, a former ROLM regional sales manager, experienced technologist, and visionary, acquired the ROLM trademark and has incorporated ROLM.ai, LLC dba ROLM. In 2024, the new ROLM ushers in a variety of technology, services, and partners which will disrupt the medium to large enterprise space in the North American and European markets.
For a complete history of the founding of ROLM Corporation, read “Starting up Silicon Valley,” by Katherine Maxfield. Available on Amazon
"ROLM, in its prime, was called a Great Place to Work and epitomized how successful an agile, well-managed start-up could be in a world dominated by giants... From the mid-1970s until IBM bought it, ROLM was a leading cultural icon of Silicon Valley, a company that was admired and imitated."
-James Mitchell, San Jose Mercury News
ROLM History Through Videos
ROLM Mil-Spec Loral 1602 Computer
ROLM CBX Time Division Multiplexing & Pulse Code Modulation animation
CBS Teaser on 60 Minutes segment on ROLM
CBS Teaser V2 on 60 Minutes segment on ROLM
ROLM TV Commercial soon after divesture ETS Phone set
ROLM Local TV Commercial, Mid Atlantic
ROLM Local TV Commercial, Santa Clara
IBM to Purchase ROLM
ROLM, a Siemens Company
2007, Siemens-ROLM Resale
2015, ROLM from Prune Shed to Silicon Valley Success. Katherine Maxfield
2019 Ken Kennedy Institute | Rice University. A fireside chat with Dr. Walter Loewenstern, one of the founders of ROLM
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