RIM might ring in some changes

CANADIAN MOBILE OUTFIT Research in Motion (RIM) might be getting ready to announce an executive overhaul as it tries to remain relevant.

The firm had a rather bad year in 2011 with a significant amount of network downtime and a lacklustre response to its Playbook tablet. It might think that the best way to move on from here is by replacing those at the top.

Canadian newspaper the Financial Post cites sources who are pretty convinced that this is the case. It says that co-founders Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie could stand down from their positions as co-chairmen and dust off the seat for Barbara Stymiest, an independent director who joined RIM's board in 2007.

2011 will take up little space in any highlights scrapbooks compiled at RIM, as over the year it had to face up to problems from losing money on the Playbook and drunken executives who caused a flight diversion to delays to its next model smartphones and the loss of its chosen name for version 10 of its Blackberry operating system.

Given these and other problems, it is perhaps unsurprising that a range of changes are being considered.

Last year in mid-December the Jaguar Financial Corporation, an investor in RIM, made its own call for changes at the company, and it recommended that Stymiest prepare herself for a new desk and the view from a corner office.

Jaguar called for a change in leadership and separation of the chairman and CEO roles at RIM, something that it said was promised in 2007. That change had not yet occurred it said, and it called on Stymiest and fellow board member Dean Martin to make it happen.

"Jaguar calls upon Barbara Stymiest to draw upon her experience and cause significant change in corporate governance. Jaguar believes that considering the experience Ms. Stymiest and Mr. Martin bring to RIM's Board of Directors, they should step up and take the lead in making dramatic governance change or else resign from the Board if they are unable or unwilling to initiate appropriate governance changes.," it said in a statement.

"Jaguar considers it highly unlikely that the Board will cause a change in leadership or a change in strategic focus, unless Ms. Stymiest and Mr. Martin push for dramatic change."

We asked RIM to comment and it told The INQUIRER that it was looking at its governance structure and would release the results of this internal study later this month. It did not specifically comment on the potential change in leadership structure.

"RIM's Board has established a Committee of independent directors with the mandate to study the Company's governance structure and report their findings by January 31, 2012," said a spokesperson.

"The Committee is on track to meet this schedule and the Board will then publicly respond to the recommendations of the Committee within 30 days." µ