Press Release: WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Feb. 7, 2013) – BlackBerry(R) (NASDAQ:BBRY)(TSX:BB) today announced it has appointed two new Directors to the Company’s Board of Directors – Richard “Dick” Lynch, retired Executive Vice President of Verizon Communications Inc. and Bert Nordberg, former Chief Executive Officer of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications.
Commenting on their appointment, Board Chair Barbara Stymiest said, “We are very pleased to add the talent and industry knowledge of these two respected executives to our Board. We are looking forward to their contributions as we continue to drive for long-term shareholder value and seek opportunities to leverage the extraordinary BlackBerry 10 platform launched last week.”
With the additions of Mr. Lynch and Mr. Nordberg, the Company’s board of directors now consists of 12 members, of which 10 are independent members including an independent chair.
Richard “Dick” Lynch is president of FB Associates, LLC, which provides advisory and consulting services at the intersection of technology, marketing, and business operations. Prior to his current roles, Lynch had been the EVP & Chief Technology Officer for Verizon Communications Inc. since 2007 and the EVP & CTO of Verizon Wireless and its predecessors since 1990.
Lynch is a Fellow of The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). He has sat on the boards of numerous industry organizations including the GSM Association (GSMA), the CDMA Development Group (CDG), and as a member of the Federal Communications Commission Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and Communications Security Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC). Lynch has also been honored with the President’s Award by the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA), and been inducted into the Wireless History Foundation’s Hall of Fame. Lynch currently serves on the boards of TranSwitch Corporation where he is chairman and Ruckus Wireless.
Lynch is a graduate of Lowell Technological Institute (now University of Massachusetts) where he received bachelors and masters degrees in electrical engineering (1970 and 1972 respectively). He has also completed post graduate work at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University.
Bert Nordberg is Chairman of Vestas Wind Systems, A/S (Denmark) and director on the Board of Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA) (Sweden). Additionally, Mr. Nordberg serves as director on the Board of Kcell Joint Stock Company (Kazakhstan) and as a representative for the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Southern Sweden and as a Member of the Hewlett Packard Communications, Media & Entertainment Board of Industry Advisors (USA).
Mr. Nordberg was Chairman of Sony Mobile from May-December 2012. He was President & CEO of Sony Ericsson from October 2009-May 2012. While at Ericsson, Mr. Nordberg held many senior positions including Executive Vice President, Ericsson Group and Head of Ericsson Silicon Valley, based in California, USA.
Mr. Nordberg received degrees in Electronic Engineering from Malmo Tekniska Laroverk in 1978 and as Engineer in the Swedish Marines from Berga, Sweden, in 1980. He has complemented these degrees with courses in International Management and Marketing and Finance at INSEAD University, France.