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The Engadget Interview: RIM CMO Frank Boulben
It's been said before that RIM CEO Thorsten Heins surely has one of the toughest jobs in tech. It's a title he no doubt shares with Frank Boulben, the company's newly minted CMO. After all, it's Boulben who will be taking charge of the marketing for the company so badly in need of a new image. The Orange / Vodafone expat, naturally, sees very bright things ahead for Research in Motion's future -- a future that hinges almost entirely on the success of the company's much delayed BlackBerry 10. Like Heins, Boulben insists that all who have seen the much anticipated mobile operating system thus far have been thoroughly impressed -- it's a sentiment that we certainly can't debate. Of course, given all of the trouble the company has run into bringing the OS to market, the number of folks who can claim membership in that exclusive club is small indeed. When the first BB10 devices finally hit early next year, Boulben's team will be tasked with making sure that number increases significantly enough to ensure the company's success in a field that is increasingly dominated by the likes of Android and iOS. We spoke to Boulben about his plans to help spread the BlackBerry gospel, the time he spent as an executive at the also-troubled Lightsquared and the changes RIM must make to ensure it's success in the future.
RIM's Thorsten Heins answers Globe & Mail readers' questions, is 'absolutely committed' to new timeline
RIM CEO Thorsten Heins did a fair bit of talking to the media following the company's latest dose of bad news (in addition to penning his own op-ed), and he's now gone one step further by responding to some readers' questions for The Globe & Mail. While there's expectedly not a whole lot in the way of surprises, he did talk a bit more about the reasons for the BlackBerry 10 delay, noting that he "could still see some of the seams," and appears to have ruled out any further delays, saying that he is "absolutely committed" to the new timeline. He's also assured folks that the company will continue to support BlackBerry 7 devices "into the future," but reiterated that upgrading those devices to BB10 was out of the question. You can find all of his answers (10 of them) at the source link below.
RIM announces Q4 2012 earnings, Jim Balsillie resigns from board, company plans to refocus on enterprise
We've already seen a bit of big news slip out ahead of RIM's earnings announcement, and the company's now dropped another bombshell itself. Former co-CEO Jim Balsillie has resigned from his position on the company's board of directors. In a statement, Balsillie said simply: "As I complete my retirement from RIM, I'm grateful for this remarkable experience and for the opportunity to have worked with outstanding professionals who helped turn a Canadian idea into a global success." RIM also confirmed that CTO David Yach would be retiring as well, and that COO Jim Rowan has "decided to pursue other interests," but it hasn't offered any indication of a broader shakeup beyond those three departures. As for the fourth quarter earnings, RIM is reporting revenue of $4.2 billion, down 19 percent from the third quarter, and a GAAP net loss of $125 million. Total BlackBerry shipments for the quarter dipped 21 percent to 11.1 million units, while PlayBook shipments totaled 500,000, which is actually a new high water mark for the tablet (1.3 million were shipped during the fiscal year). This is also notably the company's first quarterly earnings under the leadership of new CEO Thorsten Heins, who admits that the RIM faces some "significant" business challenges over the "next several quarters," and says that he's "taking the necessary steps to address them." That includes "increased management accountability and process discipline," as well as what he describes as a "comprehensive review of strategic opportunities including partnerships and joint ventures, licensing, and other ways to leverage RIM's assets and maximize value for our stakeholders." On the company's earnings call, Heins further added that he intends to refocus on the company's enterprise business, and not try to be "all things to all people." He went on to offer an even more frank assessment of RIM's current state than he had earlier, stating that these are "difficult times" and that there's "no guarantee of success," while also adding that he's open to exploring "all opportunities." That includes the possibility of licensing BB10 which, incidentally, will apparently address the company's current LTE deficit "later this year." Asked on the call whether he would consider getting out of the hardware business altogether, Heins says that he prefers an "integrated" approach, but left the door open a little to that being done through partnerships instead of completely in-house -- he also repeatedly noted that he wants RIM devices to be high-end, "aspirational" products. In short: the company's focus now is on BB10 and enterprise, but it's seemingly leaving just about everything on the table.
