BlackBerry’s BBM Chief Andrew Bocking Leaves

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BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) is apparently still in shuffle mode, as BGR reports that that EVP Andrew Bocking, who had been heading up the company’s BBM division, is no longer at BlackBerry. The site was unable to learn whether Bocking left or was fired, but it does say that “multiple sources” have said Bocking is gone. CNBC tweeted the news as well, and the company’s PR department confirmed that he was leaving.

Stories about Bocking conflict

The site said one source said BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) let Bocking go and was working on bringing the BBM division into its bigger enterprise division. The source also reportedly said that Bocking was unhappy with BlackBerry and had even switched to an Android phone for his personal handset.

However, another of BGR’s sources called Bocking’s departure “a big loss” for BBM and denied that he was fired. The source also reportedly said he was poached by a competing company. Slashgear confirmed that Bocking was carrying both a Galaxy S4 and a BlackBerry when they met with him late last year right before BBM launched on iOS and Android.

BlackBerry confirms Bocking’s departure

According to the Financial Post, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) did confirm via email that Bocking left. The company also said that executive John Sims, who heads up its Global Enterprise Solutions division, will add the BBM team to his division. So it certainly sounds like BGR’s first source was correct, at least on the one point.

BBM remains a valuable part of BlackBerry

Bocking’s departure is just the latest in a line of executives who have left BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) over the last several months. New CEO John Chen started out his tenure late last year by replacing some of the company’s top executives.

He also said they would be focusing more on enterprise than anything else, and the shift of BBM into the enterprise division doesn’t come as a big shock. The popular messaging app is one of the few parts of the company that’s still worth anything, particularly because of its successful launch on Android and iOS. By incorporating BBM into its enterprise division, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) may be seeing it as just a small part of its greater package of enterprise solutions.

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