The Board of Directors of Research In
Motion has unanimously named Thorsten Heins as President and Chief
Executive Officer. Mr. Heins was also appointed to RIM’s Board. The
Board acted after conducting its own due diligence. Both appointments
are effective immediately.
Mike Lazaridis, former Co-Chair and Co-CEO, has become Vice Chair of
RIM’s Board and Chair of the Board’s new Innovation Committee. As Vice
Chair, he will work closely with Mr. Heins to offer strategic counsel,
provide a smooth transition and continue to promote the BlackBerry brand
worldwide.
Mr. Heins said he looks forward to continuing to work with Mr. Lazaridis,
globally recognized as a technology pioneer. He said, “Mike created a
whole new way of communicating and I look forward to continuing our
close collaboration.”
On the transition to CEO by Mr. Heins, Mr. Lazaridis said, “There comes
a time in the growth of every successful company when the founders
recognize the need to pass the baton to new leadership. Jim and I went
to the Board and told them that we thought that time was now. With
BlackBerry 7 now out, PlayBook 2.0 shipping in February and BlackBerry
10 expected to ship later this year, the company is entering a new
phase, and we felt it was time for a new leader to take it through that
phase and beyond. Jim, the Board and I all agreed that leader should be
Thorsten Heins.”
Jim Balsillie remains a member of the Board. “I agree this is the right
time to pass the baton to new leadership, and I have complete confidence
in Thorsten, the management team and the company,” he said. “I remain a
significant shareholder and a Director and, of course, they will have my
full support.”
Mr. Lazaridis said that he decided to move from Co-Chair to Vice Chair
of the Board in order to return the public’s focus to what is most
important: “the great company we have built, its iconic products, global
brand and its talented employees.”
Mr. Lazaridis added, “Thorsten has demonstrated throughout his tenure at
RIM that he has the right mix of leadership, relevant industry
experience and skills to take the company forward. We have been
impressed with his operational skills at both RIM and Siemens. I am so
confident in RIM’s future that I intend to purchase an additional $50
million of the company’s shares, as permitted, in the open market.”
Mr. Heins said he believes that RIM has tremendous potential. He joined
RIM from Siemens Communications Group in December 2007 as Senior Vice
President for Hardware Engineering and became Chief Operating Officer
for Product and Sales in August 2011.
“Mike and Jim took a bold step 18 months ago when RIM purchased QNX to
shepherd the transformation of the BlackBerry platform for the next
decade,” Mr. Heins said. “We are more confident than ever that was the
right path. It is Mike and Jim’s continued unwillingness to sacrifice
long-term value for short-term gain which has made RIM the great company
that it is today. I share that philosophy and am very excited about the
company’s future.”
Mr. Heins said that RIM has a strong foundation on which to build. “We
have a strong balance sheet with approximately $1.5 billion in cash at
the end of the last quarter and negligible debt. We reported revenue of
$5.2 billion in our last quarter, up 24% from the prior quarter, and a
35% year-to-year increase in the BlackBerry subscriber base, which is
now over 75 million.”
Mr. Heins said, “BlackBerry 7 has been well received. We are very
excited about PlayBook 2.0 and BlackBerry 10. The reception of our
products at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show was encouraging.”
He continued, “RIM earned its reputation by focusing relentlessly on the
customer and delivering unique mobile communications solutions. We
intend to build on this heritage to expand BlackBerry’s leadership
position.”
Mr. Heins said that RIM has grown quickly. “As with any company that has
grown as fast as we have, there have been inevitable growing pains,” he
said. “We have learned from those challenges and, I believe, we have and
will become a stronger company as a result.
“Going forward, we will continue to focus both on short-term and
long-term growth, strategic planning, a customer- and market-based
product approach, and flawless execution. We are in the process of
recruiting a new Chief Marketing Officer to work closely with our
product and sales teams to deliver the most compelling products and
services.”
Barbara
Stymiest, who formerly served as a member of Royal Bank of Canada’s
Group Executive and has been a member of RIM’s Board since 2007, has
been named the independent Board Chair. John Richardson, formerly Lead
Director, will remain on the Board. Prem Watsa, Chief Executive Officer
of Fairfax Financial Holdings, also was named to the Board, expanding it
to 11 members.
Speaking on behalf of the Board, Ms. Stymiest said: “We believe that
Thorsten is the right executive to succeed Mike and Jim. He has 27 years
of telecommunications experience, including four years at RIM in senior
management positions. As a Board, we have been impressed with his
outstanding management skills, his leadership and his accomplishments
within the company.”
Ms. Stymiest also expressed the Board’s respect and admiration for
Messrs. Lazaridis and Balsillie, the company they built, and the steps
they have taken to position RIM for the future.
“They created RIM, nurtured it, and in the process not only built an
iconic brand, but literally pioneered the smartphone industry,” she
said. “It is Canada’s largest tech company and one of the largest in the
world.”
The Board of Directors of Research In
Motion has unanimously named Thorsten Heins as President and Chief
Executive Officer. Mr. Heins was also appointed to RIM’s Board. The
Board acted after conducting its own due diligence. Both appointments
are effective immediately. 