(dailynewyorknews) – Research In Motion co-chairmen and CEOs, Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie has resigned as part of a long-awaited reorganization of the beleaguered Canadian manufacturer of BlackBerry smartphone.
RIM said on Sunday that Lazaridis will continue to play an active role as vice president and head of a new board committee on innovation. Balsillie leaves the company, but will remain a director.
The new chief executive will Thorsten Heins, director of product operations and sales. Heins, a German aged 54, joined RIM in 2007 from Siemens, the engineering group.
RIM introduced the changes as an orderly succession initiated by the previous two chief executives. “At some point in the growth of every successful company’s founders realize it’s time to pass the baton,” Lazaridis told the Financial Times.
Barbara Stymiest, former head of the Toronto Stock Exchange and a senior executive of Royal Bank of Canada, was named president. RIM also said it was looking for a marketing director. Prem Watsa, a prominent Canadian investor, has joined the board.
However, RIM shares have lost more than three-quarters of its value in less than two years, the company has had difficulty responding to increasing competition, especially from the Apple iPhone and Android-based devices.
Shareholders have become increasingly uneasy about the share market BlackBerry sliding in North America and the delays in launching new devices and a free operating system. Some dissident shareholders have pushed for management to be replaced.
The problems have fueled speculation that RIM could become a takeover target. Nokia, Microsoft, Amazon and more recently, Samsung, have been mentioned as possible suitors.
However, Heins said, “I’m here to ensure that RIM is still one of the three leaders in the wireless industry.” In particular, he said he would “strengthen” BlackBerry’s position in the corporate market.
“I want to keep the focus on the company, but we have to communicate a little more with our consumers. We must do more marketing.”
His priorities include the anticipated launch of a new version of the much-maligned RIM Playbook tablet next month and the deployment later this year of the BlackBerry operating system 10. He preached these developments, and the recent launch of the BlackBerry 7.1 device as evidence that RIM is responding vigorously to the challenges it faces.
Lazaridis, an engineer, founded RIM in late 1980, while Balsillie, whose expertise is in the marketing, he joined in 1992. Both men are significant shareholders, and said Sunday it would remain so.
RIM shares fell 3 percent on Friday to C $ 17.34. The news of the reorganization is likely to soon rose on Monday, although some may be disappointed that the company did not appeal to an outsider as the new CEO.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/22/business/blackberry-shakeup/index.html?hpt=ibu_c2
