Hasta La Gadget!

In recent months there has been a lot of speculation about the future of BlackBerry’s hardware business. It hasn’t been able to churn out a hit for a couple of years now, which is why the company has been bleeding market share as well as money. A number of major changes have been made after the new CEO John Chen took the reins, after showing top executives from previous regime the door, Chen has started to appoint new executives that will try and revive this once iconic manufacturer. BlackBerry announced today that its hardware business is now going to be run by Ron Louks, who joins the company as President, Devices and Emerging Solutions.

Louks previously served as the CEO at The OpenNMS Group, prior to that he was the Chief Strategy Office at HTC America and also did a stint as the Chief Technology Office for Sony Ericsson. Under his new role, Louks will be tasked with BlackBerry’s long-term product roadmap which includes hardware, software and design. He will be reporting directly to John Chen, the CEO and Executive Chair at BlackBerry. Louks certainly has a tough job in reviving the company’s hardware business and returning it to profitability. Here’s to new beginnings!

Former HTC Executive To Head BlackBerry’s Hardware Business original content from Ubergizmo.

This year has been a particularly tough one for BlackBerry. After the devices it released this year failed to turn its fortunes around, the company put up a for sale sign, but a buyout didn’t go through. Instead it has received a capital injection of $1 billion from various institutional investors, executive changes come as a part and parcel of that investment. Thorsten Heins was replaced as CEO by former Sybase CEO John S. Chen, the company counts on his turnaround expertise to turn its fortunes around as well. There have been shakeups in top level management as well, and according to new report by The Wall Street Journal, two more top executives are likely to leave the company in the near future.

While BlackBerry hasn’t officially confirmed it as yet, the report claims that executive vice president for global sales Rick Costanzo and vice president for strategic alliances Chris Wormald will be leaving the company by the end of this month. Both have been at BlackBerry for over a decade, with Constanzo joining back in 1999 and Wormald following him a year later. Late last month BlackBerry officially confirmed that its chief operating officer Kristian Tear and chief marketing officer Frank Boulben are departing. This forms much of the team that surrounded Heins during his stint as the once iconic manufacturer’s CEO. Chen probably wants to have his own hand-picked team around him, and given that the company hasn’t been able to flourish under these executives, it makes sense that Chen isn’t willing to bet on them any more.

More BlackBerry Executives Expected To Depart Company Soon original content from Ubergizmo.

Speculation about BlackBerry’s future has finally died down. The board announced recently that its no longer actively seeking a buyer and that it has received a $1 billion investment from various institutional investors. The investment was closed today, and as a result, Thorsten Heins is no longer the CEO. The new BlackBerry CEO John S Chen today penned his first letter to the company’s fans, saying that they’re “excited for the future and you should be too.”

He assures the world that while a lot has been said about the company and the precarious situation it finds itself in, the management is not dwelling on the past, its looking towards the future. Chen says that they’re committed to reclaiming success, and that the company has now begun moving to adopt a multi-platform BYOD management platform and a new device strategy. There has been a lot of talk about the company’s financial health, and seeing how it burned almost $1 billion in operating loss last quarter, analysts fear that it might burn through its entire cash pile in the next few quarters. Chen says that BlackBerry has “significant financial strength for the long-haul.” It remains to be seen how the company’s device strategy changes under the new management. This year BlackBerry launched four BB10 devices and they failed to make a substantial mark in the global smartphone market. Chen has already said that there are no plans to shut down the hardware division, but what we can expect from division in the coming year, still remains a mystery.

New BlackBerry CEO Pens His First Letter To Fans original content from Ubergizmo.