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 cice chair, he will work closely with Heins to offer strategic counsel, provide a smooth transition and continue to promote the BlackBerry brand worldwide.
Heins said he looks forward to continuing to work with Lazaridis, globally recognised as a technology pioneer. Heins 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.
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. 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, CEO of Fairfax Financial Holdings, was also named to the board, expanding it to 11 members.
