Company to Pursue Full Separation of IoT
and Cybersecurity Business Units
- Industry veteran Giamatteo to lead BlackBerry as Chief
Executive Officer
- IoT and Cybersecurity business units to become fully
standalone BlackBerry divisions
- Process underway to separate centralized functions and
right-size cost structures
- Company will no longer pursue subsidiary IPO of IoT
business
- New organization structure to present greater options for
enhancing shareholder value
WATERLOO, ON, Dec. 11,
2023 /CNW/ -- BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB)
today announced the appointment of John J.
Giamatteo as its new Chief Executive Officer and as a member
of its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Richard (Dick) Lynch, who has served as interim
Chief Executive Officer since November 4,
2023, will continue as Board Chair. The Company also
announced that it will separate the IoT and Cybersecurity
businesses, and that they will operate as fully standalone
divisions. BlackBerry will no longer pursue a subsidiary IPO of the
IoT business.
Appointment of John J.
Giamatteo as BlackBerry CEO
Giamatteo has served as the President of BlackBerry's
Cybersecurity business unit since October
2021.
Giamatteo has over 30 years of experience with global technology
companies. As President of BlackBerry's Cybersecurity
business unit, he has driven significant enhancements to the
product portfolio, go-to-market strategy and organizational
efficiency. Prior to BlackBerry he was President and Chief Revenue
Officer at McAfee. Before that, John served as Chief
Operating Officer at AVG Technologies, a leading provider of
internet and mobile security. He also held leadership positions
with Solera, RealNetworks and Nortel Networks.
"We are delighted to appoint John to the role of CEO for what
will be a transformative period in BlackBerry's history, as we work
to fully separate our two core business units to drive enhanced
shareholder value. His deep industry experience and
outstanding track record of inspiring teams and delivering
operational excellence means he is strongly positioned to drive
this critical transformation of BlackBerry," said Mike Daniels, Chair of the Compensation,
Nomination and Governance Committee of the BlackBerry Board.
"I am honored and excited to lead the next phase of BlackBerry's
evolution as its CEO. BlackBerry's IoT and Cybersecurity businesses
have market-leading technology, exceptional teams and large market
opportunities," said John J.
Giamatteo. "The Board and I are fully aligned on the next
steps needed to unlock the value within BlackBerry, and work on
this effort will proceed at full speed. I look forward to working
with the entire team to uphold our legacy of innovation and
continue providing exceptional service to our customers as we
deliver on our goals."
Reassessment of Strategic Direction
Following a reassessment of the previously announced outcome of
Project Imperium, the BlackBerry Board has decided to pursue
a separation of the IoT and Cybersecurity businesses and establish
them as standalone divisions. The Company will no longer pursue a
subsidiary initial public offering of its IoT business unit.
The process will include the separation and streamlining of
BlackBerry's centralized corporate functions into business-unit
specific teams, with a view to each division operating
independently and on a profitable and cashflow-positive basis going
forward.
"The Board, with input from its advisors, believes that a full
separation of BlackBerry's IoT and Cybersecurity businesses will
open up a number of strategic alternatives that can unlock
shareholder value," said Dick Lynch,
Board Chair, BlackBerry. "Management is focused on moving quickly
to complete this reorganization that will further enhance the focus
of both businesses on their respective markets as well as their
capacity for fast, flexible decision-making."
To assist in the separation and right-sizing process, BlackBerry
is in the final stages of selecting a consulting firm to bring
expertise and additional resources for an independent, ground-up
assessment.
About BlackBerry
BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security
software and services to enterprises and governments around the
world. The company secures more than 500M endpoints including over 235M vehicles. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI
and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas
of cybersecurity, safety, and data privacy solutions, and is a
leader in the areas of endpoint security, endpoint management,
encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry's vision is
clear - to secure a connected future you can trust.
For more information, visit BlackBerry.com and follow
@BlackBerry.
Investor Contact:
BlackBerry Investor Relations
+1 (519) 888-7465
investorrelations@blackberry.com
Media Contact:
BlackBerry Media Relations
+1 (519) 597-7273
mediarelations@blackberry.com
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of certain securities laws, including under the U.S.
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable
Canadian securities laws, including statements regarding
BlackBerry's plans, strategies and objectives including its
expectations with respect to increasing and enhancing its product
and service offerings, and other statements that are not historical
facts.
The words "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will",
"should", "could", "intend", "believe", "target", "plan" and
similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and
assumptions made by BlackBerry in light of its experience and its
perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected
future developments, as well as other factors that BlackBerry
believes are appropriate in the circumstances, including but not
limited to, BlackBerry's expectations regarding its business,
strategy, opportunities and prospects, the launch of new products
and services, general economic and financial market conditions,
competition, and BlackBerry's expectations regarding its financial
performance. Many factors could cause BlackBerry's actual
results, performance or achievements to differ materially from
those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements,
including, without limitation: risks related to the proposed
separation disrupting BlackBerry's operations and making it more
difficult to conduct business as usual, including maintaining
relationships with customers, channel partners or other third
parties; risks and uncertainties related to BlackBerry's ability to
complete a full separation of its IoT and Cybersecurity business
units on the anticipated timelines, or at all; risks related to
BlackBerry's ability to operate the IoT and Cybersecurity
businesses on a profitable or cashflow-positive basis or to enhance
shareholder value as a result; and the risks discussed in
BlackBerry's Annual Report on Form 10-K and the "Cautionary Note
Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" section of BlackBerry's
MD&A (copies of which filings may be obtained at www.sedar.com
or www.sec.gov). All of these factors should be considered
carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on
BlackBerry's forward-looking statements. Any statements that are
forward-looking statements are intended to enable BlackBerry's
shareholders to view the anticipated performance and prospects of
BlackBerry from management's perspective at the time such
statements are made, and they are subject to the risks that are
inherent in all forward-looking statements, as described above, as
well as difficulties in forecasting BlackBerry's financial results
and performance for future periods, particularly over longer
periods, given changes in technology and BlackBerry's business
strategy, evolving industry standards, intense competition and
short product life cycles that characterize the industries in which
BlackBerry operates. Any forward-looking statements are made only
as of today and BlackBerry has no intention and undertakes no
obligation to update or revise any of them, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
applicable law.
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SOURCE BlackBerry Limited