The RIM heirs apparent: Who are Heins and Stymiest?

It happens every time a company promotes from within. No matter how many years newly elevated underlings have been toiling away in business-critical roles, the average observer typically has no idea who they are.

Tim Cook, who spent well over a decade building Apple into a global supply chain powerhouse, probably knows exactly how that feels. When he took over as CEO from Steve Jobs last year, he was seen as a largely unknown despite the fact that Mr. Jobs would have had no way to deliver the goods without Mr. Cook's expertise. Of course, we've since learned how instrumental he was in his relative anonymity, but it still took 14 years until the world learned he was anything but anonymous.

Now RIM gets to answer the inevitable questions surrounding who its new leaders are, and what skills and experiences they bring to the table to rejuvenate the one-time darling of Canada's tech sector. The new CEO and board chair have significant experience both within RIM and elsewhere in industry, and as the future of the company passes into their hands, now is as good a time as any to take a closer look:

Thorsten Heins: Chief Executive Officer

The 54-year-old native of Gifhorn, Germany is no stranger to the telecom market, having spent the bulk of his nearly 30-year career working with Siemens AG. His career path took him through a range of divisions, including customer service, product management, research and development, and sales. He's had extensive experience leading both hardware and software divisions both inside and outside of Siemens — a rare combination that makes him especially well suited to leading RIM's tightly integrated technology platforms.

Before joining RIM at the end of 2007, he was chief technology officer for the communications division at Siemens. In Waterloo, his first role — VP for the BlackBerry handheld business unit — made him a central figure in the company's drive to take the brand global. He's been chief operating officer of the BlackBerry unit since a management shakeup last August.

Mr. Heins attended the University of Hanover, where he earned a Masters degree in science and physics. His training as a physicist gives him ample skills to navigate the impossibly complex landscape that now defines RIM's immediate market neighbourhood, and has prepared him well for the minefield that awaits as he settles into his new role. Whether or not he ultimately connects with consumers remains to be seen, but no one can doubt he brings deep capability to his new role.

Barbara Stymiest: Board Chair

Although Ms. Stymiest is the first independent board chair in the history of the company, she's no stranger to breaking barriers. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario's Richard Ivey School of Business, she holds CA and FCA designations and was Ernst & Young's youngest-ever partner — at 30 — before joining BMO Nesbitt-Burns in 1992. There she became the firm's first-ever executive VP and, later, its first chief financial officer. The firsts continued in 1999, when she joined the Toronto Stock Exchange — now TSX — and became the first woman in North American history to lead an exchange. Later, she took the exchange public before a 2004 move to the Royal Bank of Canada got her on the path to the chief operating officer's role. She held that role until retiring in 2011 after being passed over for the CEO slot.

She's been repeatedly recognized for her business leadership, with regular appearances on the Fortune 50's most powerful women in business list and Canada's list of most powerful women, from 2003 to 2006. The Financial Times named her one of its 50 women to watch in 2009.

She joined RIM's board in 2007 in the wake of a stock valuation scandal that stretched to the very top of the company and resulted in significant regulatory sanctions against the company and its then-CEOs. Her background in corporate governance was seen as key in helping the company bounce back, and has also helped RIM largely avoid regulatory trouble as it's pushed into emerging markets. Her guidance has also helped RIM weather the security/law enforcement controversies that have cropped up countries like India, Saudia Arabia and Kuwait.

As she takes control of a newly-expanded 11-member board, Ms. Stymiest will be challenged by the fact that the now-former CEOs have retained their seats here. In fact, Mr. Laziridis will be the vice chair, and will head up the innovation committee responsible for providing strategic direction for next-generation technologies and products. While having the former chairs close by can be a good thing when seeking advice, it can be an albatross if their presence holds the board back from moving ahead with fundamental change.

Whether Ms. Stymiest has the will to lead the board her way is another unanswered question, but one that investors will be challenged to answer in the months to come. At least her resume suggests she's more than up to the challenge.

Carmi Levy is a London, Ont.-based independent technology analyst and journalist. The opinions expressed are his own. carmilevy@yahoo.ca