Observation: CEO Thorsten Heins
I have watched the BBWorld keynote a few times now since last Tuesday. I have followed the coverage of the conference from the start and have read every article CB has posted. CBKevin has made mention many times how Thorsten is a likeable guy and everyone believes he is telling the truth.
Even watching via webcast I didn't get the feeling that he was just feeding us a load of BS. Clearly he was reading from a monitor and I believe he went off script with some of the points.
That being said, I believe the reason he comes over this way is this. Unlike Mike and Jim, that seemed to "create and pass down", Thorstens genuinely seems like a consumer of the Blackberry product itself.
His demeanour throughout the entire keynote is of someone who is truly excited about what is coming. Many of us were excited (clearly trolls weren't) about what was being shown and the CEO who would have seen this before is excited to show it.
I believe that difference will help RIM innovate even more in the future. I have read and watched many news pieces over the last couple months and many still don't see RIM as a competitor or even a factor in the mobile space. Some even believe RIM's days are number and the come back story will fall flat on it's face.
I beg to differ. But time will tell.
The question I have heard and asked myself, where would RIM be today had Thorsten been given the reigns this time last year?
The guy clearly has a way to rally people and to get things done.