[anon(3896606)]

Just read an interesting article on BBOS, I thought it was worth the share.

BlackBerry Is Eliminating The Chief Marketing/Operating Officer Positions

With just three weeks under his belt officially as CEO of BlackBerry, John Chen has already made some swift changes to the structure of the company with this morning's announcements. After Boulben, and Tear's departures were revealed, the first question on everyone's minds was who would be replacing them going forward? Apparently, no one will.

According to a BlackBerry spokesperson we talked to, the company is "eliminating the positions of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer." So, does this mean BlackBerry won't market their products anymore? Obviously not.

We already know John Chen wants to keep pumping out smartphones in the near future, so they'll obviously have to sell them. The press release that was sent out this morning also gives us some clues as to what's most likely going to happen. Chen is quoted as saying, "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 to drive innovation."

Chen seems to be a very hands-on CEO so far, and this could be another indication of that. Obviously, he himself won't be responsible for the company's marketing, but he may not want to leave the responsibility of making final decisions to someone else.

They could also be fusing positions together. It's possible Chen wants one person in charge of marketing and sales as a whole, as opposed to two separate teams under two different directors.

There's no doubt the lack of a CMO, and COO will be a hot topic on the December 20th earnings call. I'm sure investors will want to know how BlackBerry plans on going forward without a CMO and a COO. Let's see what Chen has to say about that. I get the feeling he's got a plan in mind.

Source: BlackBerryOS.com - BlackBerry Is Eliminating The Chief Marketing/Operating Officer Positions

[howarmat]

Interesting take on it. I am not sure what it means. Som people are speculating a possible partnership or that they will have others make the hardware and let them do the sales and marketing. Just have to see

[SubCamp]

I think it means the CEO will guide the operations and marketing will be outsourced

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[eldricho]

Maybe he wants to make the team smaller? Better to work and communicate with less people in his team?

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[eddy_berry]

I like this take on it. I hope that it is exactly what is going through Chen's mind because I like it. They are getting rid of the high payed execs who have failed the employees who are now losing their jobs. I would like to see a CEO that takes the reins with conviction. Maybe it will even make investors feel a bit more secure about the company. It is still going to take a lot and would really like to see what Chen says on the 20th of Dec.

[alan510]

What I thought was interesting in the press release this morning was the term "interim" was not used with CEO. Does that mean Chen plans on keeping the job?if that is the case, then the non-replacement of the CEO and CMO might make sense.

But there is another take. Chen may be developing a strategy for BlackBerry and once that is done, he could move aside and hire a CEO. Should that be a case, it only makes sense to leave those two posts open as it would be up to a more permanent CEO to build the executive team. You wouldn't be able to attract a great candidate if the option to build the team wasn't part of the job. Time will tell. At the very least, Chen seems to understand the urgency of the moment and he's not wasting a lot of time in moving forward.

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[sixpacker]

Interesting take on it. I am not sure what it means. Som people are speculating a possible partnership or that they will have others make the hardware and let them do the sales and marketing. Just have to see

Agreed. How come virtually every press release raises more questions than it answers? Is this deliberate or are they just **** poor communicators? Presumably they just don't like informing their customers, partners and shareholders of their real intentions.

[Saberhagen]

Looks to me like that they are going away from "we-do-everything"-model to focus on their core competence, and outsourcing stuff that they are not good at. Looks like Chen knows how to cut down the costs at least.

[v cheng]

There is no mention of out sourcing anything. It's only your speculation.

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[lnichols]

Considering the people who were asked to leave did nothing but collect paychecks and make huge blunders, the positions don't appear to be needed.

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[FSeverino]

I'd they are trying to save money then having one person in charge of sales and marketing would be a good idea.

They also have to look into whether they are going to put out ads for consumers or just market straight to corporate. I'd try are going more for corporate then having that same person in charge for marketing and sales would be a better bet since they would have a better relationship with the actual clients.

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[donmateo]

Either he will let the teams do it and verify things himself or they outsource some or all of marketing.

Not opposed if it works.