Blackberry (TSX:BB) on Monday announced the appointment of insider John Giamatteo as its new CEO following the resignation of long-time leader John Chen in November.
Giamatteo had previously held the role of president of Blackberry (TSX:BB)’s Cybersecurity business unit and before joining BlackBerry served as president and chief revenue officer at McAfee and chief operating officer at AVG Technologies.
“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,” BlackBerry board member Mike Daniels said.
“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.”
Shares of the Waterloo, Ontario cybersecurity and Internet of Things (IoT) firm traded lower before Monday’s opening bell as it also announced it will no longer pursue a public listing of its IoT business unit.
BlackBerry shares traded 7.2% lower at US$3.82 shortly before the market opened.
Following a strategic review, the company said it intends to separate its Cybersecurity and IoT businesses and establish them as standalone divisions.
The company said this would include separating and streamlining BlackBerry’s centralized corporate functions into business-unit-specific teams. It is in the process of selecting a consulting firm to assist with the separation.
“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,” board chair Dick Lynch, who served as interim CEO following Chen’s exit, said.
“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.”
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