WATERLOO (dpa-AFX) - BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIMM, RIM.TO) Tuesday said it has hired Kristian Tear as Chief Operating Officer and Frank Boulben as Chief Marketing Officer to complement the company's existing executive team.
Tear has almost 25 years of wireless experience in general management, sales and marketing, services and operations. He joins the company from Sony Mobile Communications, where he served as Executive Vice President. He previously held several operational leadership positions with Ericsson in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
At RIM, Tear will serve as Chief Operating Officer overseeing all operational functions for handhelds and services. This includes research and development, products, global sales, manufacturing and supply chain.
Boulben has more than 20 years of international experience in the wireless industry. He was formerly Executive Vice President of Strategy, Marketing and Sales for LightSquared.
He joined LightSquared after serving as Global Director of Commercial Strategy for Vodafone Group and Executive Vice President of Brand and Consumer Marketing for Orange Group. Boulben will oversee global marketing efforts at RIM.
Thorsten Heins, RIM's CEO, said, 'Kristian and Frank bring extensive knowledge of the rapidly changing wireless global market and will help RIM as we sharpen our focus on delivering long-term value to our stakeholders. Most importantly, both Kristian and Frank possess a keen understanding of the emerging trends in mobile communications and computing.'
RIMM closed on Monday at $11.82, down from the prior close of $12.01, on 16 million shares.
RIM.TO settled at C$11.75, compared to the previous close of C$11.96, on 2.2 million shares.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
