7 ms·

RIM CEOs to Give Up Top Posts in Shuffle

84 points by matt_p 15y ago

jeffdechambeau 15y ago
Finally.
mvkel 15y ago
Too little too late? If we start seeing tons of "expense cutting" measures with no innovation, they need to a) hire from the outside for a fresh perspective or b) get acquired
- JS_startup 15y ago
  Way too late. RIM has very little in the pipeline and still seems determined to try and make the PlayBook work. Rumors are that they're shopping the company around but asking too much.
- MBCook 15y ago
  I think their only chance to be relevant would be to get our of the hardware business and rush to be a service company. They should start making Blackberry Enterprise Server integration for Android. They should see if they could get Apple to let the iPhone hook in too. Their phones are a lost cause. Even if they had an amazing phone in the pipeline, I don't think they could stop their slide if it was released tomorrow. At this point, BES and their patents are the things with any value.
  - cpeterso 15y ago
    Spot on. People loved their CrackBerries because of the messaging services (and maybe the keyboards), not the tired phone software. iOS and Android devices dominate the enterprise now, but RIM could retain a server-side position BES. IT departments might like a single enterprising message service that can they can standardize across the variety of Android and iOS devices they will have to support.
    - colton36 15y ago
      Can someone enlighten me as to what advantage BES holds over the way iOS and Android communicate? I agree that several years ago, when phone having an IP address was unheard of, BES made all the sense in the world. It's kind of pointless now.
  - farrel 15y ago
    Remember when people were screaming at Apple to get out the hardware game in 1997?
  - justincormack 15y ago
    It is just as hard to see how you coukd build a long term sustainable company based on BES though. In the end selling it to Microsoft would seem the only sane outcome, so it can be part of a Windows offering.
faramarz 15y ago
Quote from The Globe and Mail article[1] I read earlier: "...new chief executive officer says the company is doing everything right and does not need a change in strategy..." oh boy! [1] http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/at-research-in-motion-a-new-ceo-vows-to-silence-the-doomsayers/article2310968/ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/at-researc...
- zeroboy 15y ago
  RIM is one of those rare companies that have the ability to gloat whilst having their ass handed to them.
- xal 15y ago
  That's generally a good thing to say when the people that he has to calm the most are the Street and their demotivated workforce. People as a whole don't like change.
  - resnamen 15y ago
    Not if the status quo is terrible.
    - xal 15y ago
      We techies know it is but RIM is very profitable and growing, the trade volume on the stock indicates that a lot of people think that they could be undervalued at the moment. They may even be under book value.
      - nl 15y ago
        So techies know RIM is in trouble, and Wall Street is pricing RIM as though it is in trouble... The only people who think it isn't in trouble are inside RIM. RIM is very profitable and growing Actually the opposite is true: RIM profit drops 27 percent; shipments seen down[1], The Waterloo, Ontario, company said fiscal third-quarter earnings tumbled 71% on a charge related to a disastrous launch of a tablet competitor to Apple's iPad. And it forecast weak smartphone shipments in the current quarter. [2], etc, etc [1] http://news.yahoo.com/instant-view-rim-profit-drops-27-percent-shipments-220357189.html http://news.yahoo.com/instant-view-rim-profit-drops-27-perce... [2] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204026804577100830184933776.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020402680457710...
Slimy 15y ago
Full article without ad: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052970204624204577177184275959856-lMyQjAxMTAyMDIwMjEyNDIyWj.html http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB1000142405297020462420... Video: http://youtu.be/QUFwhpcrCTw http://youtu.be/QUFwhpcrCTw
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
rdl 15y ago
Perhaps Ballmer will step aside at Microsoft for Qi Lu, next? HP would be the other company in my "management-impaired former titans" portfolio which might benefit from a change (they'll probably want to wait a bit, and Meg Whitman is definitely an improvement over some of their other CEOs.)
kefs 15y ago
Official press release: http://press.rim.com/release.jsp?id=5358 http://press.rim.com/release.jsp?id=5358 and more info: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/jim-balsillie-mike-lazaridis-out-thorsten-heins-in-as-new-rim-ceo/article2311029/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/jim-balsillie...
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
wavephorm 15y ago
The fact that it took this long for the CEO's to step down reflects the extreme arrogance of this company. I've attended a few RIM-sponsored events in the Waterloo, and it's downright shocking how cocky the reps and developers are. RIM appears to be living in its own little tech bubble, blissfully ignorant that pretty much everywhere else in the first world owns or will own an iPhone. This company makes a lot of money, they still have a lot of marketshare, but there's no question they are in a serious downdraft. It would be completely normal for any company in this situation to put itself up for sale. I'm a little surprised Google choose to buy Motorola Mobility rather than RIM, given that RIM has a lower market value and has more attractive assets. Regardless of what it says in the press I imagine finding a potential acquirer of the company will be the first task of the new CEO.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- martythemaniak 15y ago
  "...blissfully ignorant that pretty much everywhere else in the first world owns or will own an iPhone" Speaking of living in a bubble...
  - wavephorm 15y ago
    What I meant was that RIM and their execs have been insulated from the true damage being done to their business and more importantly their mindshare among developers. Apple's success with iPhone and iPad is absolutely not what I'd call a bubble.
    - cryptoz 15y ago
      You suggested that Apple has some kind of majority market share or something. They don't. Hence, your bubble is showing.
      - wavephorm 15y ago
        Depends on the metrics used, Apple has 52% of smartphone profit: http://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2011/11/04/apple-took-52-of-smartphone-profits-on-4-2-market-share-in-q3-stock-to-hit-560/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2011/11/04/apple-t...
JS_startup 15y ago
Deck chairs..Titanic..
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
phil 15y ago
According to the press release, they are also out as co-chairs of the board. Lazaridis is becoming Vice Chair (whatever that means) and Balsillie is retaining his seat but will be stripped of all titles.
digamber_kamat 15y ago
Too less too late. They should focus all their energies on BBX and be a lot more developer friendly.
davidw 15y ago
I could see this company earning a spot in future versions of 'In Search of Stupidity'. (If you don't know the book, don't knock what I'm saying before you read it. It's one of my favorite reads about high tech business)
Mordor 15y ago
Perhaps RIM's real value lies in their patents (or lack thereof) and this explains why they are unable to make a viable product?

84 points by matt_p 15y ago

Finally.

mvkel 15y ago

Too little too late? If we start seeing tons of "expense cutting" measures with no innovation, they need to a) hire from the outside for a fresh perspective or b) get acquired

JS_startup 15y ago
Way too late. RIM has very little in the pipeline and still seems determined to try and make the PlayBook work. Rumors are that they're shopping the company around but asking too much.
MBCook 15y ago
I think their only chance to be relevant would be to get our of the hardware business and rush to be a service company. They should start making Blackberry Enterprise Server integration for Android. They should see if they could get Apple to let the iPhone hook in too. Their phones are a lost cause. Even if they had an amazing phone in the pipeline, I don't think they could stop their slide if it was released tomorrow. At this point, BES and their patents are the things with any value.
- cpeterso 15y ago
  Spot on. People loved their CrackBerries because of the messaging services (and maybe the keyboards), not the tired phone software. iOS and Android devices dominate the enterprise now, but RIM could retain a server-side position BES. IT departments might like a single enterprising message service that can they can standardize across the variety of Android and iOS devices they will have to support.
  - colton36 15y ago
    Can someone enlighten me as to what advantage BES holds over the way iOS and Android communicate? I agree that several years ago, when phone having an IP address was unheard of, BES made all the sense in the world. It's kind of pointless now.
- farrel 15y ago
  Remember when people were screaming at Apple to get out the hardware game in 1997?
- justincormack 15y ago
  It is just as hard to see how you coukd build a long term sustainable company based on BES though. In the end selling it to Microsoft would seem the only sane outcome, so it can be part of a Windows offering.

faramarz 15y ago

Quote from The Globe and Mail article[1] I read earlier: "...new chief executive officer says the company is doing everything right and does not need a change in strategy..." oh boy! [1] http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/at-research-in-motion-a-new-ceo-vows-to-silence-the-doomsayers/article2310968/ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/at-researc...

zeroboy 15y ago
RIM is one of those rare companies that have the ability to gloat whilst having their ass handed to them.
xal 15y ago
That's generally a good thing to say when the people that he has to calm the most are the Street and their demotivated workforce. People as a whole don't like change.
- resnamen 15y ago
  Not if the status quo is terrible.
  - xal 15y ago
    We techies know it is but RIM is very profitable and growing, the trade volume on the stock indicates that a lot of people think that they could be undervalued at the moment. They may even be under book value.
    - nl 15y ago
      So techies know RIM is in trouble, and Wall Street is pricing RIM as though it is in trouble... The only people who think it isn't in trouble are inside RIM. RIM is very profitable and growing Actually the opposite is true: RIM profit drops 27 percent; shipments seen down[1], The Waterloo, Ontario, company said fiscal third-quarter earnings tumbled 71% on a charge related to a disastrous launch of a tablet competitor to Apple's iPad. And it forecast weak smartphone shipments in the current quarter. [2], etc, etc [1] http://news.yahoo.com/instant-view-rim-profit-drops-27-percent-shipments-220357189.html http://news.yahoo.com/instant-view-rim-profit-drops-27-perce... [2] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204026804577100830184933776.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020402680457710...

Slimy 15y ago

Full article without ad: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052970204624204577177184275959856-lMyQjAxMTAyMDIwMjEyNDIyWj.html http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB1000142405297020462420... Video: http://youtu.be/QUFwhpcrCTw http://youtu.be/QUFwhpcrCTw

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

rdl 15y ago

Perhaps Ballmer will step aside at Microsoft for Qi Lu, next? HP would be the other company in my "management-impaired former titans" portfolio which might benefit from a change (they'll probably want to wait a bit, and Meg Whitman is definitely an improvement over some of their other CEOs.)

kefs 15y ago

Official press release: http://press.rim.com/release.jsp?id=5358 http://press.rim.com/release.jsp?id=5358 and more info: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/jim-balsillie-mike-lazaridis-out-thorsten-heins-in-as-new-rim-ceo/article2311029/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/jim-balsillie...

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

wavephorm 15y ago

The fact that it took this long for the CEO's to step down reflects the extreme arrogance of this company. I've attended a few RIM-sponsored events in the Waterloo, and it's downright shocking how cocky the reps and developers are. RIM appears to be living in its own little tech bubble, blissfully ignorant that pretty much everywhere else in the first world owns or will own an iPhone. This company makes a lot of money, they still have a lot of marketshare, but there's no question they are in a serious downdraft. It would be completely normal for any company in this situation to put itself up for sale. I'm a little surprised Google choose to buy Motorola Mobility rather than RIM, given that RIM has a lower market value and has more attractive assets. Regardless of what it says in the press I imagine finding a potential acquirer of the company will be the first task of the new CEO.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
martythemaniak 15y ago
"...blissfully ignorant that pretty much everywhere else in the first world owns or will own an iPhone" Speaking of living in a bubble...
- wavephorm 15y ago
  What I meant was that RIM and their execs have been insulated from the true damage being done to their business and more importantly their mindshare among developers. Apple's success with iPhone and iPad is absolutely not what I'd call a bubble.
  - cryptoz 15y ago
    You suggested that Apple has some kind of majority market share or something. They don't. Hence, your bubble is showing.
    - wavephorm 15y ago
      Depends on the metrics used, Apple has 52% of smartphone profit: http://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2011/11/04/apple-took-52-of-smartphone-profits-on-4-2-market-share-in-q3-stock-to-hit-560/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2011/11/04/apple-t...

JS_startup 15y ago

Deck chairs..Titanic..

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

phil 15y ago

According to the press release, they are also out as co-chairs of the board. Lazaridis is becoming Vice Chair (whatever that means) and Balsillie is retaining his seat but will be stripped of all titles.

digamber_kamat 15y ago

Too less too late. They should focus all their energies on BBX and be a lot more developer friendly.

davidw 15y ago

I could see this company earning a spot in future versions of 'In Search of Stupidity'. (If you don't know the book, don't knock what I'm saying before you read it. It's one of my favorite reads about high tech business)

Mordor 15y ago

Perhaps RIM's real value lies in their patents (or lack thereof) and this explains why they are unable to make a viable product?