BlackBerry CEO: Innovation key to company’s turnaround
Posted Sep 17, 2015 03:24:47 PM.
Last Updated Nov 4, 2015 06:14:38 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BlackBerry’s boss says they’re not going anywhere, but there’s still a lot of work to do.
The company’s chief executive officer, John Chen, was candid in his fireside chat at the third annual Waterloo Innovation Summit Thursday morning.
When asked about the current culture within BlackBerry during its transformation, the company’s CEO was equally forthcoming.
“Changing one’s behaviour is like changing muscle memory,” said Chen. “It takes time.”
“It also takes success,” he added. “Right now, our only success is we saved this company from going away. But this will come over time.”
Speaking at the Quantum-Nano Centre named for his company’s co-founder, Mike Lazaridis, Chen told the capacity crowd that three or four years ago, the Waterloo-based company ran into “some headwinds.”
“When I came in, we were burning a lot of cash — chasing a lot of innovation, which is good — but customers [were worried] about our staying power,” said Chen.
The former Sybase Chairman and CEO acknowledged that some would like to see BlackBerry do away with its handsets, but that he felt it was still an important part of the company.
He added that an important aspect of the company’s turnaround will be monetizing its patents.
Chen used his golf game as a final analogy for BlackBerry’s turnaround:
“I need to work on my handicap. I shouldn’t be concerned with what the other players are doing.”
