article

"John Chen - cogent roadmap"

[WHAT]

1. by Armina Ligaya (@arminaligaya) @financial post - Ligaya interview with Prem Watsa and former Blackberry executives about the current state of Blackberry and the changes since John Chen took the helm of the ship in Nov. 2013
2. ] co·gent
1. adjective: cogent
   (of an argument or case) clear, logical, and convincing.

[WHY]

1. ] Mr. Chen was appointed last Nov. 4, in a surprise announcement that came after BlackBerry had failed to find a buyer to rescue it and a US$4.7-billion deal to take it private collapsed.
2. ] The announcement by BlackBerry’s largest shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., that it was abandoning its tentative deal to instead raise and inject $1-billion and reshuffle the ranks was the culmination of six weeks of backroom negotiations, and swirling questions about the company. Staying public was the “worst case” scenario, as one analyst termed it at the time.
3. ] the smartphone maker still has recovering to do, but analysts and investors reflecting on Mr. Chen’s first year, paints a picture of an organization a far cry from the one he inherited.
4. ] “John came into an extremely difficult situation, and has done a commendable job given all the challenges he faced coming in,” said Mike Walkley, managing director of Canaccord Genuity. “He seems to have a cogent roadmap for the company, and we finally have a path for the future" Still, BlackBerry’s “clearly not out of the woods,” as it needs to generate much needed revenue growth, he said.
5. ] Mr. Chen’s candid nature was a “breath of fresh air” compared to his predecessors, he said. “Finally, we were getting to the reality of the situation,” said the former BlackBerry executive who did not want to be named.
6. ] Analysts and shareholders say Mr. Chen has made solid moves to stabilize BlackBerry’s finances and refocus the company on its core base of enterprise customers.
7. ] Still, the next step is to drive up revenue growth. While its latest quarterly earnings showed a smaller than expected loss of US2¢ per share, BlackBerry’s revenues continued to drop to just US$916-million in the latest quarter ended Aug. 30. High-margin service revenue generated from its older devices continues to slip some 10% to 15% per quarter, and it’s unclear sales from enterprise clients and software will cover the shortfall, analysts and investors say.
8. ] BlackBerry’s share price has risen 29% since Mr. Chen’s appointment to US$10.25, yet 25 analysts rate the stock as a hold, 10 say sell, and just one has a buy rating, according to Bloomberg. “We’re not big bulls on this name,” said Manash Goswami, portfolio manager at First Asset Investment Management, which owns shares of BlackBerry. “It’s more of a wait and see.”
9. ] refocused the company, analysts say, repositioning it away from the consumer smartphone market it pioneered towards software and enterprise clients. Other smart tactics include outsourcing some of its production to Taiwanese handset manufacturer Foxconn Technology Co. Ltd., and bringing back keyboard devices such as the recently launched Passport.
10. ] BlackBerry also cut back its cash burn to hold a cash balance of US$3.1-billion, according to its latest quarterly earnings. “We cut costs dramatically and doubled down on reducing losses and growing profits,” Mr. Chen wrote in a post on networking website LinkedIn in late October. “We still have a few water buckets on hand. But no one is cooking our funeral dinner on the flames, because we took action.” He added he was in it “for the long haul.”
11. ] there has been a shift in the mood at the Canadian smartphone maker, including in the boardroom, says Prem Watsa, Fairfax’s CEO and lead director of BlackBerry’s board. “The boardroom is hugely supportive of John,” “They can see what John is doing… the intangible change is very significant. There is a confidence that this company is going to survive and thrive.”
12. ] Watsa recruited Chen to replace former chief executive Thorsten Heins. After meeting at a leadership conference in San Francisco last year, Mr. Watsa invited Mr. Chen to his hotel room for a confidential meeting about taking the top role at BlackBerry.“He was intrigued,” said Mr. Watsa. “He had bought every BlackBerry device, knew the company, and he just felt it was too iconic a name not only from Canada’s perspective, but from a worldwide perspective. And it didn’t deserve to die.” Still, Mr. Watsa acknowledges that Mr. Chen’s turnaround isn’t complete yet.
13. ]“A year ago, it was whether the company will survive,” said Mr. Watsa. “Now the comment is: What’s going to happen with the revenue base?… I understand the concerns that people have, but I have no doubt in my mind.” Mr. Chen has set a target of operational profitability by the next fiscal year, and aims to double annual software revenue by next fiscal year to US$500-million and generate some $100-million in annual revenues from its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) platform.
14. ] Initial sales of the Passport have shown promise, with 200,000 pre-orders placed immediately after its launch in September. Next month, BlackBerry will launch the Classic device, which brings back features such as a row of navigation keys and a track pad to cater to its core base of customers. While software and enterprise is where Mr. Chen sees’ the company’s future, it is devices that will generate profits in the short term as it pivots. Later this month, the company will be introducing a new version of its BlackBerry Enterprise Service technology, also known as BES 12, which will enable companies to manage older BlackBerrys running its BB7 and BB10 software, as well as Apple’s iPhone and devices on Google’s Android platform.
15. ] Still, speculation around a potential sale continues to to swirl. Last month, BlackBerry shares rose after a news website said China’s Lenovo might offer to buy the company for $15 per share. A sale is a prospect that Fairfax, which focuses on long-term investments, wouldn’t entertain, said Mr. Watsa. “We just think John’s going to do extremely well over the long term,” he said. “Why would we sell, when the company is just recovering?”

[WHERE]

1. ] READ THE FULL ARTICLE @
1. ] http://business.financialpost.com/2014/11/03/after-first-year-john-chen-displays-cogent-roadmap-for-blackberry/?__lsa=8a89-47cc

[WHEN]

1. ] 2014-11-03

[EXAMPLE]

1. ]

[HOW-TO]

1. ]

[REFERENCE]

1. ] Blackberry 10 Operating system overview
1. [what] a new mobile operating system (OS) from Blackberry(BBRY) for a new series of smartphone models [why] new gesture based user interface(UI) that replaces the bbos 7 [where] the NEW bb 10 smartphone series[when] 2013-01-31
2. ] Blackberry's smartphones (current models)
1. ] Blackberry Passport keyboard+touchscreen - ] an innovative physical qwerty keyboard that incorporates capacative touch and integrates with the large touchscreen(4.5")
2. ] Blackberry Z-3 full-touchscreen - ] details of 1 model of the bb 10 os smartphone models
3. ] Blackberry Z-30 full-touchscreen - ] details of 1 model of a bb 10 os full touchscreen(5.0") hardware models
4. ] Blackberry Q-10 keyboard+touchscreen -] details of 1 model of the bb 10 os hardware models, the first with a physical qwerty keyboard and a touchscreen(3")
5. ] Blackberry Z-10 full-touchscreen  - ] details of 1 model of a bb 10 os touchscreen(4.3") hardware models

 

Details

ID: 3960

NAME: After-first-year-John-Chen-displays-cogent-roadmap

DESCRIPTION: by Armina Ligaya (@arminaligaya) @financial post - Ligaya - An interview with Prem Watsa and former Blackberry executives about the current state of Blackberry and the changes since Chen took the helm of the ship in Nov. 2013

AUTHOR: article.author/s

EDITOR: article.editor/s

PUBLISHER: article.publisher/s

STATUS: Write

PRIORITY: 0

OWNER ID: 75

photos

actions

Email Email-Owner SMS and