BlackBerry chief executive Thorsten Heins unveils the new Z10 and Q10 handsets. Pic: AP
4 November 2013
The chief executive of ailing smartphone maker BlackBerry is to leave the company following the collapse of a $4.7 billion (£2.9 billion) takeover offer from the firm’s largest shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings.
Thorsten Heins will be replaced by John Chen, who becomes executive chairman and acting chief executive.
Instead of taking BlackBerry private, Fairfax — which had struggled to raise finance — has teamed up with institutional investors to pump in $1 billion in debt which can be converted into shares.
