Blackberry Busts Two

BLACKBERRY BUSTS TWO: Research in Motion, the beleaguered parent company of Blackberry, eliminated the roles of two of its longtime co-chief executives under pressure from its Board. RIM confirmed that it has installed former co-chief operating officer Thorsten Heins as its new CEO. Board member Barbara Stymiest will take over the board chair position; with former co-CEO Mike Lazaridis assuming the role of vice chairman, and his counterpart, Jim Balsillie, remaining on the board as a director, though their roles in the day-to-day operations have essentially been eliminated. It is unclear if the market will see the shakeup as sufficient. Both Balsillie and Lazaridis said the decision to step down was theirs and not made in response to investor calls for their removal. In making the move, Lazaridis said he hoped the executive changes would “return the public’s focus to what is most important,” that being the company, its brand and its products. Heins. a former executive at Siemens who spent 23 years at the German electronics firm before joining RIM in 2007, characterized these major stumbles as “growing pains.” In addition to naming Stymiest as chairman, RIM also added an eleventh member to its board, Fairfax Financial Holdings CEO Prem Watsa. (1/23a)