New York - BlackBerry announced the departure of three top executives yesterday, including its chief financial officer, as new chief executive John Chen attempts to turn around the struggling smartphone maker with a fresh management team.
Brian Bidulka, the finance chief, would depart after eight years at the company, BlackBerry said. He would be replaced by James Yersh, who was head of compliance.
Chief operating officer Kristian Tear and chief marketing officer Frank Boulben, who were hired under previous chief executive Thorsten Heins, would leave and would not be replaced.
In addition, board member Roger Martin had resigned, according to yesterday’s statement from BlackBerry.
Chen, the former chief executive of Sybase, took the reins at BlackBerry on November 4, following a failed attempt by Fairfax Financial Holdings to buy it for $4.7 billion (about R47bn). BlackBerry then raised $1bn in a convertible debt sale, giving it more of a financial cushion as Chen formulates his comeback plan.
“I will continue to align my senior management team and organisational structure, and refine the company’s strategy to ensure we deliver the best devices, mobile security and device management,” Chen said yesterday. – Bloomberg