BlackBerry’s executive purge points to Chen’s plan

BlackBerry’s announcement Monday of a significant shakeup in its senior leadership ranks confirms what observers have been expecting for weeks: that newly minted CEO John Chen is wasting no time in putting his stamp on the company.

Chen, known as a turnaround specialist following his rags-to-riches stint at enterprise software specialist Sybase, began clearing house in a purge that saw Chief Marketing Officer Frank Boulben and Chief Operating Officer Kristian Tear leave the company. Chief Financial Officer Brian Bidulka is also being replaced in the C-suite by James Yersh. Bidulka will remain on board through the end of the current fiscal year as a special advisor to Chen. Roger Martin, who had been part of the company’s board since 2007, is also leaving.

Narrowing the target

In a release, Chen shared some insight into where he’ll be focusing in the months ahead, and hinted there will be more changes to come.

BlackBerry has a strong cash position and continues, by a significant margin, to be the top provider of trusted and secure mobile device management solutions to enterprise customers around the world,” he wrote. “Building on this core strength, and in conjunction with these management changes, I will continue to align my senior management team and organizational structure, and refine the Company's strategy to ensure we deliver the best devices, mobile security and device management through BES 10, provide multi-platform messaging solutions with BBM, and expand adoption of QNX embedded systems.

The least surprising departure is Boulben, who had been handpicked by ex-CEO Thorsten Heins to build and execute a global marketing plan in support of the BlackBerry 10 platform and devices. The company’s first-ever Super Bowl ad – a Fantastic Four-inspired spot that highlighted the then-new Z10 – was supposed to kick things off with a bang. Instead, it fizzled, and the Z10 has since languished on store shelves and resulted in a near-US$1 billion inventory writedown.

A high-profile deal with Alicia Keys to serve as the company’s Global Creative Director has also failed to move the needle with consumers, who are increasingly turning to Apple and Android-powered devices as the industry-dominant players continue to squeeze smaller handheld platforms to the margins.

Replacements for Boulben and Tear were not announced, and a company spokesperson later confirmed no additional announcements regarding direct replacements would be forthcoming.

Yersh has been with the company since 2008, and has been Senior Vice President, Controller, and head of Compliance. His industry experience – including stints at business intelligence software specialist Cognos and services giant Deloitte – will come in handy as BlackBerry realigns itself to appeal to enterprise and prosumer buyers.

BBM Channels hits milestone

The departures came a day before BlackBerry announced the next step in creating a franchise around BlackBerry Messenger. BBM Channels, which builds on BBM’s one-to-one instant messaging roots by adding a broader, social media-like focus to mobile discussions, became available for BlackBerry 5, 6, 7 and 10 users. Versions for BBM on iOS and Android will be released later. The software had been introduced as a beta release in May, and BlackBerry is looking to this next broader beta period to generate additional momentum and user feedback.

A number of major brands, including UPS and the Toronto Maple Leafs, are already using the product, and BlackBerry says the hockey club is reporting higher levels of fan engagement. While a company spokesperson confirmed revenue generation is an eventual goal, the immediate priority is to build content and activity.

“We won’t just stick ads in there,” David Proulx, BlackBerry’s senior director, platform business development for BBM, said.

As the revolving doors on BlackBerry’s executive suites continue to spin, next-generation products like BBM Channels could very well hold the key to reconnecting the brand with its once-ultra-loyal enterprise customer base.

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