BlackBerry Recruits SAP Exec John Sims As Enterprise Head

John Sims, the current president of SAP’s Mobile Services business, will join BlackBerry in January to head up the Canadian manufacturer’s renewed push into the enterprise as it seeks to emerge from its current malaise.

Sims will join as BlackBerry’s new president of Global Enterprise Services. He has more than 20 years’ experience of working with companies that supply mobile telecommunications companies.

He also serves on the board of directors and executive committee of the wireless industry trade group CTIA. Recently appointed BlackBerry CEO John Chen says he is pleased to welcome such a “seasoned executive” to head the company’s ongoing restructuring.

BlackBerry enterprise

“His extensive experience in transforming businesses, redefining brands and motivating teams will be a tremendous asset to BlackBerry as we reshape the Company to be more nimble and focused,” said Chen. “The changes we are making demonstrate our commitment to innovating for current customers who count on BlackBerry, and the new users who are just learning how powerful and compelling the BlackBerry 10 platform can be.  John will be central to all of those efforts.”

BlackBerry’s share of the smartphone market has contracted dramatically in the last few years, resulting in massive losses and uncertainty. Following the failure of BlackBerry 10 smartphones to revive its fortunes, the company put itself up for sale and announced it was going to target the enterprise rather than the consumer space.

However it has since abandoned plans to sell itself to its largest shareholder Fairfax Holdings and has generated $1 billion in fresh investment from predominantly Canadian private firms. A management restructure resulted in the departure of a number of key executives, including former CEO Thorsten Heins.

BlackBerry’s troubles and the increasing importance of mobility in the workplace have encouraged a number of competitors to enter the enterprise mobility market, including Good Technology, Samsung and most recently Dell, which announced its own EMM platform last week.

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