BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) announced the appointment of Ron Louks as president of its Devices and Emerging Solutions unit today. He will report to the company’s executive chairman and CEO John Chen.
The Canadian smartphone manufacturer had been struggling to realize profits from its BlackBerry smartphones. During the third quarter, BlackBerry Ltd (NYSE:BBRY) (TSE:BB) sold 4.3 million smartphones including only 1.1 million million Blackberry 10 units. A majority of the units sold were BlackBerry 7, which shows that its new platform failed to retain and attract new customers.
BlackBerry needs a good salesman
Given the poor performance of BlackBerry Ltd (NYSE:BBRY) (TSE:BB) particularly in selling its BlackBerry 10 smartphones, the company badly needs well-experienced salesman to head its Devices & Emerging Solutions unit to implement effective strategies to boost its sales.
Louks previously served as chief executive officer of OpenNMS Group, a company engaged in managing telecom and enterprise networks worldwide. Prior to leading Open NMS Group, he also served in different senior positions in the technology industry such as chief strategy officer of HTC America Inc and chief technology officer of Sony Ericsson.
BlackBerry’s long-term product road map
Chen is confident that Louks will be able to help BlackBerry Ltd (NYSE:BBRY) (NYSE:BB) turn around its current situation.
[drizzle]“I am pleased to add another outstanding addition to BlackBerry’s executive leadership team with the announcement of Ron today. I am confident that Ron will bring the skills and expertise that will make an immediate impact to BlackBerry and to our customers around the world,” he said.
In his role as president of Devices & Emerging Solutions, Louks will focus his effort on the company’s long-term product road map including hardware, software and design as well as well as the joint development efforts of BlackBerry Ltd (NYSE:BBRY) (TSE:BB).
Louk will spend most of his time dealing with the company’s clients, carriers, and partners. “On our path to return BlackBerry to profitability, nothing is more important than remaining deeply connected to our customers, and designing and delivering secure products that exceed their expectations,” said Chen.
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