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Blackberry

BlackBerry COO and CMO depart in major senior management shakeup

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By Gillian West, Social media manager

November 26, 2013 | 2 min read

BlackBerry has announced a major shakeup of its senior management team with COO Kristian Tear and CMO Frank Boulben leaving the company, and current CFO Brian Bidulka replaced by James Yersh.

The news follows the departure of CEO Thorsten Heins earlier this month, replaced by John S. Chen, who is acting as interim CEO.

Of the changes, Chen said: “I thank Kristian and Frank for their efforts on behalf of BlackBerry. I look forward to working more directly with the talented teams of engineers, and the sales and marketing teams around the world to facilitate the BlackBerry turn-around and drive innovation.

“I also thank Brian for his eight years of dedicated service to BlackBerry. I look forward to working with James and his finance team as we move forward, execute on our plans and deliver long-term value for our shareholders.”

Additionally board member Roger Martin, who has sat on the board since 2007, has also resigned. Board member and former chair of the board Barbara Stymiest, said: “Our board has benefitted from Roger’s expertise and insights over the past six years and we wish him the best.”

The changes come during a tumultuous year for the company which failed to regain market share with the launch of its new mobile operating system BlackBerry 10 back in January.

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