BY REUTERS
New York, TAG – Research in Motion's Thorsten
Heins plans to waste no time in his new job. The BlackBerry maker's chief
executive said he will present the board with his plan for company's future in
just a matter of weeks.
The
German-born executive, who took over from two longstanding co-CEOs on Saturday,
said his plans for RIM would be "significant" though he did not
divulge details in an interview with Reuters.
"I
will have time with the board in two weeks to present my ideas and
changes," Heins said.
But
the executive, who was promoted from the role of chief operating officer, said
he has already done groundwork to tackle his company's most pressing problem -
persuading the U.S. market to covet the BlackBerry again.
While
RIM is growing in other countries, Heins conceded that its U.S. business is in
need of a major revival after losing out to rivals like Apple Inc's iPhone at
U.S. service providers and corporations, where it once had a clear advantage
among employees heavily dependent on its email service.
"In
general I wouldn't consider RIM as a turnaround candidate. It is a turnaround
candidate in the U.S.," he said. "We lost market share in this market
quite substantially. That is something that we have to address."
Heins'
quest to regain ground with these operators has been complicated by the fact
that RIM had to announce in December that it is delaying the launch of phones
based on BlackBerry 10 - its next-generation software - until the later part of
2012 as it is awaiting the availability of a high-powered chip.
The
executive would not say when exactly these phones would hit the market but
implied that they would arrive in time for the year-end holiday-shopping season
in the fourth quarter.
So
in the meantime, Heins will concentrate on getting the most current BlackBerrys
into more consumers hands. He noted that only 20 percent of U.S. BlackBerry
users have the company's latest phones, which he says are competitive with
rival smartphones.
In
his first presentation to Wall Street as CEO earlier this week, Heins said he
did not think the company needed drastic change, causing some analysts to worry
that the executive would not do enough to reverse the company's fortunes.
But
the executive said on Friday that he was merely telling Wall Street that he
does not want to change the core of RIM.
"Is
RIM up for sale, is RIM up for a split-up?" He rejected those
possibilities as "a drastic, seismic change because it would tear the
company apart."
Some
analysts have worried whether these executives would have too much of a say in
the future strategy of the company because of their position on the board.
Heins
said, it would be an advantage to be able to tap into the experience and
company knowledge of RIM founder Lazaridis, but he made it clear that he would
be the one calling the shots.
"What I do with the company is my decision. The
CEO runs the company."[]
Related articles:
RIM CEO Eyes "Significant" Plans for BlackBerry
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