QNX Software Systems Launches New Cloud Business to Power the Internet of Things

01.23.14 / John Chen

As BlackBerry continues to transform its business by building a world-class team and bringing even greater focus to the company, I’m happy to announce the formation of QNX Software Systems’ new Cloud business.

In this growing, connected world, it’s more important than ever to create technologies that not only connect people to people, but that connect to machines and devices for greater communication and interaction. BlackBerry and QNX have a long history of developing solutions that do just that. Solutions that connect and support the Internet of Things, including embedded platforms, networks and devices, are at the heart of what QNX delivers. Consider this – while there are 5 billion handsets in the world that we want to connect to, there may be 500 billion devices out there that present a tremendous opportunity for an organization with the experience and track record of QNX. I’m thrilled to create a group within QNX that will be dedicated to bringing these solutions to market in a timely and cohesive manner. This business is being established alongside our existing organizations that serve the embedded market (including general embedded and automotive).

Alec Saunders will lead this new group as Vice President of the QNX Cloud business. I am confident Alec will be successful in his new position given his previous experience in helping to build BlackBerry’s dedicated developer community and growing the BlackBerry application ecosystem as Vice President of Developer Relations and Ecosystem Development. Alec is returning to his roots, as he previously held the VP Marketing role at QNX from 2001 to 2002.

In addition, Marty Mallick has been appointed Vice President, Global Alliances and Ecosystems, which combines Developer Relations with his current Business Development and BlackBerry World responsibilities. Having worked closely with Alec on the evolution of our ecosystem, there is no better person than Marty to continue to advance this work. Marty’s expertise will allow him to work with partners and developers to make BlackBerry 10 users even more productive and efficient.

These changes underscore our continued efforts to drive collaboration across BlackBerry operating units, while leveraging top internal talent to help seize emerging business opportunities. I look forward to sharing more information about our Cloud team at QNX in the coming months as their work progresses.

Feel free to leave your comments below or join the conversation on @BlackBerry4Biz

About John Chen

John Chen is Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of BlackBerry. Appointed in November 2013, John led BlackBerry’s turnaround stabilizing the company’s financial position, ensuring its viability, and pivoting its operations from consumer hardware to enterprise software. Today the company takes advantage of the current growth opportunities in IoT and Cybersecurity and is pioneering the convergence of these two markets.

John is a distinguished business leader and proven turnaround executive with over 40 years of engineering and management experience. Prior to joining BlackBerry, John served as Chairman and CEO of Sybase Inc. where he re-invented the company and achieved 55 consecutive quarters of profitability during his 15-year tenure.

Recognized as a thought leader and as a respected voice in foreign policy, John has testified before Congress on U.S.–China trade relations and was appointed by U.S. President George W. Bush to serve on the President's Export Council. In 2006, he was appointed co-chair of the Secure Borders and Open Doors Advisory Committee. Additionally, John chaired the U.S.-China Policy Advisory Roundtable for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), served on the Board of the National Committee on U.S. China Relations since 2012, and has been a member of the Committee of 100 since 1997 and its Chairman from 2009-2011.

John graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a master's in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). John has an honorary professorship from Shanghai University, and honorary doctorates from San Jose State University, City University of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. John has received awards from the U.S.-Asia Institute, the U.S.-China Policy Foundation, the California-Asia Business Council, and the U.S.-Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation.

John served on the Board of Directors for The Walt Disney Company (2004-2019) and Wells Fargo & Co. (2006-2018) and as a trustee of Caltech (2008-2022). John is an Advisory Board member of the US Chamber China Center. He is also active in the not-for-profit community, and is a board member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, member of CFR, national trustee of The First Tee and Governor of the San Francisco Symphony.

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