BlackBerry CEO John Chen Leaving Company After 10 Years at Helm

BlackBerry CEO John Chen takes part in an event at BlackBerry QNX headquarters in Ottawa on Feb 15, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

BlackBerry CEO and executive chairman John Chen will retire Nov. 4 after a decade in leadership at the Canadian software company.

Richard Lynch will take over as chairman of the board and has been named interim CEO while the Waterloo, Ont.-based technology firm searches for a permanent replacement.

BlackBerry lead director Prem Watsa, in a statement this week, credited Mr. Chen with “saving BlackBerry and repositioning it as a software company with leading cybersecurity and IoT technologies.”

Mr. Chen says he “was forced out of retirement” by Mr. Watsa in November 2013 to take the reins at BlackBerry and turn the struggling smartphone firm into a cybersecurity software and services company.

The 68-year-old has most recently focused his efforts on separating BlackBerry’s Internet of Things (IoT) and cybersecurity units into two independently operated entities, with plans to take the IoT division public.

The company told shareholders in May it would examine a variety of strategic options to increase the value they obtain from the business, calling the plan “Project Imperium.”

The separation of the two BlackBerry units was announced last month, with Mr. Chen calling it the best way to increase “operation agility.”

Mr. Chen, in a letter to BlackBerry employees this week, acknowledged his departure may seem abrupt, but said he “felt it was important” to wait for Project Imperium to “run its course to avoid disrupting this critical next step for the company; a company that so many of us have poured our blood, sweat, and tears into.”

Mr. Chen said he joined BlackBerry with three key priorities: to repair BlackBerry’s “financial health” because it was “days away from potential bankruptcy;” to establish a new strategy for the firm to follow, and to set the company up for long-term growth.

“Now that each of these priorities has been achieved, the time seems right for me to leave,” he said. “As I look back at everything we have experienced and achieved together, the list of best moments is a long one. We have built a company that is unquestionably innovative, has a clear purpose, is highly disciplined, and operates with integrity.”

Before joining Blackberry, Mr. Chen was instrumental in the turnaround of California-based software company Sybase, where he served as president and CEO for 15 years.

BlackBerry, which ceased its smartphone operations last year, and has since been trying to sell its legacy mobile device-related patents. The company lost US$42 million in the second quarter of its 2024 fiscal year compared with a loss of US$54 million during the same period in 2023.