In a farewell letter addressing company’s employees, outgoing BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins wrote that even after handing over his CEO post to John S. Chen, Heins will remain to be the company’s biggest fan and will continue to support and cheer the company “from the sidelines.”
Heins in his letter thanked the company’s employees for their support and hard work and also expressed his hope for the company to do well in Chen’s “capable hands”.
The letter came in after it was announced that the company’s £3 billion acquisition bid by Fairfax Financial Holdings was cancelled resulting in Heins leaving the CEO post.
“Today I bid farewell to this great company,” wrote Heins.
“But leave with the confidence of knowing that BlackBerry’s future is in your capable hands. Together, we have accomplished a great deal over the past six years, and I thank you for your loyalty and dedication along the way.”
Heins joined BlackBerry in 2007 as the firm’s Handheld Business Unit’s senior vice president, later on becoming the chief operating officer of product engineering and then of product and sales. Finally, in January 2012, Heins replaced former co-CEOs and co-founders Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis to become the company’s CEO.
Praising Chen’s previous works as Sybase’s CEO, Heins wrote that Chen’s deep technology industry knowledge will be of great help for the company.
Full text can be read on The Wall Street Journal.
