Right before RIM was set to debut the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, Keith Pardy, then CMO, decided to leave the company “for personal reasons.” It’s been a year since the company has been searching for a new Chief Marketing Officer. The same was true in their quest for a Chief Operating Officer. However, as RIM forges ahead with the lead of CEO Thorsten Heins, a new era of executives has been born.
RIM announced two new hires today. Kristian Tear as Chief Operating Officer and Frank Boulben as Chief Marketing Officer. Tear has been in the wireless game for 25 years and comes from Sony Mobile Communications (previously known as Sony Ericsson), where he was Executive Vice President. His new role is a busy one as he’ll focus on “overseeing all operational functions for handhelds and services, including research and development, products, global sales, manufacturing and supply chain.”
As for Frank Boulben, the new CMO, came from LightSquared where he was in charge of Marketing and Sales. He’ll take on the task to “oversee global marketing efforts at RIM.” He has his work cut out for him and will most likely continue the “Be Bold” plan for this year. Both new execs will help Heins and the others at RIM prepare “for the launch of its new BlackBerry 10 platform.”
Thorsten Heins, RIM’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said “Kristian and Frank bring extensive knowledge of the rapidly changing wireless global market and will help RIM as we sharpen our focus on delivering long-term value to our stakeholders. Most importantly, both Kristian and Frank possess a keen understanding of the emerging trends in mobile communications and computing.”
Source: MarketWire
