* SVP, VP join stream of departures in past year
* RIM assessing strategic options
* RIM posted first loss fiscal 2005 in last quarter
TORONTO, April 6 (Reuters) – Blackberry maker Research In
Motion Ltd is losing two more senior executives
as the money-losing company embarks on a strategic overhaul that
its new chief executive says could result in its sale.
Alan Brenner, a senior vice president for the BlackBerry
platform, will leave after a transition period, and Alistair
Mitchell, a vice president for the BlackBerry Messenger instant
messaging product, has already left, RIM spokeswoman Tenille
Kennedy said in an email on Friday.
A stream of executives have left RIM in the past year as its
once-dominant market share has slipped amid fierce competition
from Apple Inc and phones running on Google Inc’s
Android. RIM shares have dropped more than 80 percent
from a peak of almost $70 in February 2011, to $12.67 on Nasdaq
on Thursday.
Last week, RIM said it would stop issuing financial
forecasts and that it was reviewing strategic options, such as
entering partnerships and joint ventures or licensing its
software.
CEO Thorsten Heins, who took the reins in January when
longtime co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie resigned under
pressure, would not rule out a possible sale of the company.
Several senior executives announced their departures in last
week’s earnings report – including Balsillie, who stepped down
from the board. RIM posted a net loss of $125 million after
booking writedowns on its legacy BlackBerry 7 phones and
goodwill.
RIM last recorded a loss under generally accepted accounting
principles (GAAP) in the fiscal 2005 fourth quarter, when it
booked tax expenses and paid to resolve a patent infringement
case that had threatened to shut down its U.S. operations.
The Waterloo, Ontario-based company is seeking a chief
marketing officer and a chief operating officer.
In July RIM slashed 2,000 jobs, or about 11 percent of its
workforce, to cut costs as sales and profit fell.
Its developer relations and sales and marketing
teams were particularly hard hit.
Head of marketing Keith Pardy left in March 2011, just
before RIM launched its PlayBook tablet, which fared poorly. Two
of his staff later moved to Samsung Electronics.
Chief Operating Officer Don Morrison resigned in July after
taking medical leave. A second COO, Jim Rowan, left last week
along with Chief Technology Officer David Yach.
Jeff McDowell, senior vice president for platform marketing
and alliances, left RIM last July and Tyler Lessard, a senior
vice president for global alliances and developer relations,
left in September.
