BlackBerry 10 Launch - A Huge Thorsten Heins Moment?

BlackBerry 10 Launch – A Huge Thorsten Heins Moment?

With mixed views and sentiments on RIM and BlackBerry coming from stock analysts and tech experts, all eyes are on the upcoming BlackBerry 10 launch and how it could prove to be a huge Thorsten Heins moment.

Bloomberg just posted an article that somewhat compares RIM CEO Thorsten Hein’s situation with that of the late Steve Jobs back when he spearheaded Apple’s turnaround.

Just as Steve Jobs returned to Apple Inc. in 1997 and breathed life into the company with a fresh approach and new products, Heins has already made his mark since taking over a year ago. He cut 30 percent of RIM’s workforce, hired marketing and sales chiefs, and expanded cash reserves to $2.9 billion. Part of that stockpile will fund a promotional blitz for BlackBerry 10, including a TV commercial during the Super Bowl Feb. 3.

RIM’s stock has risen 178 percent from a late September low, a sign investors like Heins’s strategy and believe the new phones can make the Waterloo, Ontario-based company competitive again.

What do you think?

To read the full article, head on to Bloomberg: BlackBerry Debut Provides Steve Jobs Moment for CEO

—

Source: Bloomberg

Image lifted from a previous BlackBerry Empire article.

Brett Chandler

Heins has been a remarkable presence at RIM, and has done everything that anyone could have expected of him in this past year.

2012 at RIM has to have been one of the toughest years any corporation has faced. Declining sales, scrambling for market-share, layoffs, bad press, and product delays. Aside from being broke and in debt, I can’t imagine how the situation could have been worse.

I remember being a little worried at Heins “nothing needs to change” comment when he was first interviewed after the CEO announcement. Not so much that the comment bothered me, but that the press jumped on it so eagerly; I wondered if this guy had ever received media training…

I honestly didn’t mean to stay up for his keynote at DevCon Europe (it started at 2AM local for me), but I happened to be up and at the computer that night, and I tuned in out of sheer curiosity (and hopefully some juicy PlayBook news). Heins impressed the hell out of me. He was clearly aware of the shape RIM was in, knew they were in a deep hole, and yet he also projected a quiet confidence and enthusiasm for what the company was working on. I remember Vivek Bhardwaj had a demo (for BB Bridge, I think) that had a glitch and the two of them smoothly worked through it.

Heins has been consistent throughout the year; a year in which many expected RIM to fade into oblivion. He’s engaged the press, he’s engaged the users, he’s engaged the developers. Under him, RIM was moderately profitable and managed to maintain its subscriber-base. And through it all he’s maintained good humor and a “this-is-worth-the-wait” attitude.

So, yes, I’m eagerly awaiting his keynote on the 30th.