The Canadian-based Research In Motion (RIM) has handed off the CEO role to German businessman Thorsten Heins after the co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie stepped down last week. Blackberry phones were once one of the most popular smartphones in the world, but RIM failed to keep up with the consumer demands and latest trends once Apple’s iPhone came on the market, along with the many Android alternatives. As a result, RIM’s market share and stock value has plummeted.
Shareholders have been asking for a radical change in the company, and now with a new CEO they may get a little change. But will it be enough to save the company? Heins, who began his career at Siemens in Germany, has been with the company since 2007 and has played a major role in creating RIM’s current product lines. You have to wonder if he will be able to make the major change the company needs since he struggled to help create the next big thing in his previous role.
Thorsten Heins has a big challenge ahead of him, but maybe it will take a German to stop the downward spiral RIM is facing. Only time will tell.
