BlackBerry hires seasoned wireless exec to head device group
by The Canadian Press
Ron Louks will join Waterloo, Ont.-based firm as president for devices and emerging solutions
WATERLOO, Ont.—BlackBerry Ltd. has appointed Ron Louks, who has held senior positions at HTC America Inc. and Sony Ericsson, to help develop the company’s long-term product roadmap.
Louks has been named to the new position of president for devices and emerging solutions, reporting to BlackBerry chief executive John Chen.
This is the latest in a number of changes Chen has made BlackBerry’s executive ranks since he joined the smartphone company in November as chairman and interim CEO.
Chen said last month that BlackBerry will continue to be a device maker, a part of the business that some suggest could be spun off amid intense competition from Apple, Samsung and others.
Louks joins BlackBerry from OpenNMS Group, where he was chief executive.
Prior to that, he was chief strategy officer of HTC America and chief technology officer of Sony Ericsson, two other smartphone companies.
