Inside BlackBerry » Research In Motion

Research In Motion is Now BlackBerry

Donny Halliwell — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:28:18 +0000

In a bold move (if I do say so myself), we’ve renamed the company to reflect our brand. Research In Motion (RIM) is now officially named BlackBerry. Seconds ago on stage at the BlackBerry 10 global launch event, Thorsten Heins made the announcement to press and advocates from around the world.

“From this point forward — we are BlackBerry. One brand. One promise. Our customers use a BlackBerry, our employees work for BlackBerry, and our shareholders are owners of BlackBerry.”

To explain this move further, I sat down with Frank Boulben, CMO, earlier this week in New York City. Check out the interview below.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

As we wrote last week, RIM was founded in 1984 – that’s almost 30 years of heritage built into the BlackBerry brand. Reflecting on this change, I believe Thorsten put it best when he said:

“We are now, more than ever, a company united in our vision for mobile computing and it all starts today with our renaming and with the global launch of BlackBerry 10.”

It’s a new day, a new name and new products. We are BlackBerry – please share your thoughts on the change with us in the comments.

RIM CIO Robin Bienfait Answers Your Tough Questions on BlackBerry in Enterprise

Luke Reimer — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 13:19:30 +0000

It’s been an honor to be a part of conversations with enterprise customers during a major transition for Research In Motion® (RIM®). We’ve had many valuable questions sent to us, and we’re taking the opportunity to get answers from Robin Bienfait, Chief Information Officer (CIO) for RIM. Robin oversees the Enterprise Business Unit, BlackBerry Operations, Customer Service, and Corporate IT functions. In short, she plays a major role in leading the vision for BlackBerry enterprise solutions, and the execution of making that vision a reality. Check out our chat below:

Hi Robin, thanks for joining me today! I’m looking forward to representing our enterprise customers and voicing the questions that they have.

My pleasure Luke, it’s both a challenging time and a very exciting time for us at the moment, and I’m glad I can help to address our customers’ concerns directly.

Can you tell me a bit about your background and the role that you play with our enterprise customers?

Our customers are the reason we do what we do every day. My job is to meet customers where they’re at and help bring solutions to them that work best for their environment. I spent 22+ years at AT&T through all sorts of engineering and network operations leadership roles. When I left AT&T to join RIM over 5 years ago, I had led 30,000 people all dedicated to building a scalable and reliable enterprise class network. During that time, I interacted with enterprise customers on a daily basis, as I continue to do today. I believe it’s important to get to know the different pieces of a business – it’s not just about being a leader, it’s about getting involved in problems and solutions. I am 100% committed to using my experience, knowledge, and dedication to meet the needs of our enterprise customers – that’s what I’m here for.

Meet Thorsten Heins, RIM President and CEO

BlackBerry — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 04:16:42 +0000

Team BlackBerry, we wanted you to be among the first to meet and greet new Research In Motion President and CEO, Thorsten Heins. Prior to today’s announcement, Mr. Heins was one of RIM’s two Chief Operating Officers and, before that, Senior Vice President for the Handheld Business Unit. He played key roles in the creation of RIM’s product portfolio.

First the official word on Thorsten’s background: Mr. Heins came to RIM in December 2007 from the industrial conglomerate Siemens AG. He joined Siemens in 1984 after graduating from the University of Hannover in his native Germany. At Siemens, Mr. Heins rose through the ranks of R&D customer service, sales and product management positions. After serving as Chief Executive Officer of various business divisions in the communication business, Mr. Heins moved to Chief Technology Officer and member of the Group Board of the Siemens Communications Group. He came to RIM after being impressed by the level of innovation displayed by founders Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie.

Now we’d like you to hear from Thorsten himself.

On RIM’s Strengths…

[YouTube link for mobile viewing]

On the next 5 years…

[YouTube link for mobile viewing]

On growth and enthusiasm…

[YouTube link for mobile viewing]

On PlayBook 2.0…

[YouTube link for mobile viewing]

On the best people…

[YouTube link for mobile viewing]

On motivation…

[YouTube link for mobile viewing]

On his proudest moment…

[YouTube link for mobile viewing]

Team BlackBerry: Do you have a question or comment for Thorsten or the BlackBerry team? Add a comment below. While it’s not possible to respond to all, we do promise to read each and every one.

Research In Motion Names Thorsten Heins President and CEO

BlackBerry — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 03:05:54 +0000

The Board of Directors of BlackBerry® maker Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced that acting on the recommendation of its Co-Chief Executive Officers to implement the succession plan they previously submitted to the Board, it has unanimously named Thorsten Heins as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Heins was also appointed to RIM’s Board. The Board acted after conducting its own due diligence. Both appointments are effective immediately.

Mike Lazaridis, former Co-Chair and Co-CEO, becomes Vice Chair of RIM’s Board and Chair of Board’s New Innovation Committee. Jim Balsillie, former Co-CEO, remains a member of the Board. RIM Board Member Barbara Stymiest has been named the independent Board Chair. Prem Watsa, CEO of Fairfax Financial Holdings, has also been named to the Board. For more information, please see the official RIM press release.

A conference call and live webcast will be held beginning at 8 am ET, January 23, 2012, which can be accessed by dialing 1-800-814-4859 (North America), (+1) 416-644-3414 (outside North America) or through your personal computer or BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet at www.rim.com/investors/events/index.shtml.