CEO

Breaking
January 22, 2012
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RIM’s Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis step down, name new CEO

By on January 22, 2012 at 9:22 PM.

RIM’s Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis step down, name new CEO

Research In Motion will be getting a new chief operating officer shortly, replacing current co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis. RIM named Thorsten Heins, previously the company’s chief operating officer, as the company’s new CEO. Though Balsillie and Lazaridis will step down as CEOs, they will remain on the board though both have relinquished their co-chairman roles and Barbara Stymiest has been named chairperson of the board. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the company’s new CEO stated that RIM was not intending to put the company up for sale, though a successful launch of BlackBerry 10 could open the door to possible licensing agreements with other manufacturers. BGR exclusively reported that executives from Research In Motion were in high level, preliminary discussions about a possible sale of the company to Samsung. Samsung denied interest in acquiring RIM through a spokesperson. RIM’s full press release follows below. More →

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Business
January 17, 2012
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Yahoo co-founder and former CEO Jerry Yang resigns

By on January 17, 2012 at 5:20 PM.

Yahoo co-founder and former CEO Jerry Yang resigns

Co-founder and former CEO Jerry Yang has resigned from all of his positions with Yahoo, the company announced in a press release on Tuesday. Yang co-founded Yahoo in 1995 with David Filo and served as a member of the Board of Directors since March 1995. Yang was also the company’s CEO from June 2007 to January 2009, until he was replaced by Carol Bartz. “My time at Yahoo!, from its founding to the present, has encompassed some of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of my life,” said Yang in a statement. “However, the time has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo! As I leave the company I co-founded nearly 17 years ago, I am enthusiastic about the appointment of Scott Thompson as Chief Executive Officer and his ability, along with the entire Yahoo! leadership team, to guide Yahoo! into an exciting and successful future.” Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock praised Yang, calling him both a visionary and pioneer. “We appreciate Jerry’s comments and share his enthusiasm for the company’s prospects. With Scott Thompson leading an outstanding team of Yahoos to deliver innovative products and an engaging customer experience, Yahoo!’s future is bright,” said Bostock. Yahoo’s press release follows below. More →

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Business
January 6, 2012
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Kazuo Hirai to take over as Sony president, Stringer remains as CEO

By on January 6, 2012 at 1:01 PM.

Kazuo Hirai to take over as Sony president, Stringer remains as CEO

Kazuo Hirai will take over as the president of Sony in the next few months, Nikkei reported on Friday. Howard Stringer, who previously had served as the president, chairman and CEO of the company will remain on board as chief executive officer. Sony is expected to be a big presence at the Consumer Electronics Show this year and could unveil a “different kind of TV set” early next week. Sony also recently announced that it will purchase Ericsson’s stake in its Sony Ericsson joint venture for $1.47 billion. More →

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Business
January 4, 2012
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Yahoo names former PayPal president Scott Thompson as new CEO

By on January 4, 2012 at 10:41 AM.

Yahoo names former PayPal president Scott Thompson as new CEO

Yahoo on Wednesday announced that former PayPal president Scott Thompson will takeover as CEO of the company. Thompson will replace Tim Morse, who has served as the interim CEO since the firing of Carol Bartz last year. ” With the ultimate goal of delivering the value our shareholders expect, my immediate focus will be on getting to know the entire team and hearing more from all Yahoo!s, working closely with the engineers and product teams, and diving deeply into our products and services to learn more about what our more than 700 million users find most engaging and useful,” Thompson said. “I will also be working directly with our region leaders and sales teams globally to get a clearer understanding of the needs of our advertisers and publisher.” Yahoo’s full press release follows after the break. More →

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Legal
December 5, 2011
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RIM boss in Indonesia faces charges following BlackBerry stampede

By on December 5, 2011 at 10:35 AM.

RIM boss in Indonesia faces charges following BlackBerry stampede

Research In Motion’s top executive in Indonesia is facing charges from the government after more than 90 people were hurt when chaos broke out during the launch of RIM’s BlackBerry 9790 in Jakarta. Police confirmed Monday that Andrew Cobham, who has been identified as RIM’s Indonesia CEO by Reuters, will be charged with negligence, which has a maximum sentence of 9 months in jail. Cobham has not been detained. An event organizer, a shopping mall manager and a RIM employee involved with security may also be charged. More →

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Business
October 24, 2011
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Siri co-founder Dag Kittlaus leaves Apple

By on October 24, 2011 at 8:45 PM.

Siri co-founder Dag Kittlaus leaves Apple

Siri co-founder Dag Kittlaus has left Apple, AllThingsD reported on Monday. Kittlaus is said to have moved to Chicago to spend time with his family and to take time off from working. The report also notes that there are rumors Kittlaus is considering a new start up, though no details on the possible project were noted. Apple purchased Siri in April of last year and the software made its debut in iOS 5 during the iPhone 4S unveiling earlier this month. Siri allows users to interact with their iPhone to schedule appointments, check the weather, surf the web and more using voice commands. Reportedly, Kittlaus decided to leave Apple shortly after the iPhone 4S was launched while other members of the Siri team are expected to remain with Apple. More →

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Mobile
October 21, 2011
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‘Tremendous demand’ for free iPhone 3GS, AT&T CEO says

By on October 21, 2011 at 11:00 PM.

‘Tremendous demand’ for free iPhone 3GS, AT&T CEO says

During AT&T’s third-quarter earnings call on Thursday, CEO Ralph de la Vega discussed the continued success his company still sees from the iPhone 3GS. “We have another device that I think is going to dramatically change those people that are on smartphones and quick messaging devices, the 3GS, which is free with a 2-year contract,” de la Vega explained. “We’ve seen tremendous, tremendous demand for that device even though it’s a generation old. And actually, we’re getting more new subscribers coming on to the 3GS on the average than other devices. So we have an inventory sold out on that device.” Pretty impressive for a phone that made its debut in June, 2009. AT&T said it sold a total of 4.8 million smartphones during the third quarter, 2.7 million of which were iPhone activations. After the introduction of the iPhone 4S, Apple announced the 3GS was free with an AT&T contract and that the iPhone 4 would fall to $99 with a contract.  More →

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Business
October 19, 2011
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Apple CEO Tim Cook unfazed by Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet

By on October 19, 2011 at 1:25 PM.

Apple CEO Tim Cook unfazed by Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook sees no real threat from Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet. On Apple’s earnings call on Tuesday, Cook dismissed the Kindle Fire and noted that the iPad’s share continued to gain market share even while numerous Android tablets entered the market. “We’ve seen several competitors come to market to try to compete with the iPad,” Cook explained. “Some had different form factors, different price points. And I think it’s reasonable to say that none of these have gained any traction thus far. And in fact, as all of those competitors were coming to market, our share actually went up, such that in the June quarter, according to IDC, we were responsible for three out of every four tablets sold.” Read on for more. More →

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Business
September 23, 2011
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New CEO Whitman happy with HP’s current strategy despite investor unrest

By on September 23, 2011 at 3:45 PM.

New CEO Whitman happy with HP’s current strategy despite investor unrest

Meg Whitman may have assumed the role of CEO with HP on Thursday after Leo Apotheker was ousted, but that does not mean the company’s plans to kill of its webOS operating system, possibly spin off its PC business and purchase Autonomy are going to change. “It does not signal a change in the strategy,” Whitman explained to Bloomberg on Thursday. “We are behind the actions that were taken on Aug. 18. We are firmly committed to Autonomy.” Still, Whitman’s appointment has pumped a bit of new faith into the market. “Although there could still be curve balls around these planned initiatives, we believe the company is now in better hands to deliver the consistency that investors deserve,” Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White said in a note to investors on Friday. Other analysts aren’t so sure Whitman is the driving force HP needs. “The board isn’t going to change the strategy and is going to continue down this path, which frankly was the fear,” Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore told Bloomberg. More →

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Breaking
September 22, 2011
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Former eBay chief Meg Whitman replaces Apotheker as HP CEO

By on September 22, 2011 at 4:27 PM.

Former eBay chief Meg Whitman replaces Apotheker as HP CEO

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman has officially replaced Leo Apotheker as the CEO of HP. Unlike Apotheker, Whitman has experience working in the consumer market after spending 10 years with eBay. Ray Lane will assume the executive chairman position on the board of directors. “We are fortunate to have someone of Meg Whitman’s caliber and experience step up to lead HP,” Lane said. “We are at a critical moment and we need renewed leadership to successfully implement our strategy and take advantage of the market opportunities ahead. Meg is a technology visionary with a proven track record of execution. She is a strong communicator who is customer focused with deep leadership capabilities. Furthermore, as a member of HP’s board of directors for the past eight months, Meg has a solid understanding of our products and markets.” Read on for the full press release from HP. More →

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Business
September 21, 2011
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HP may oust Apotheker for former eBay CEO Meg Whitman

By on September 21, 2011 at 1:45 PM.

HP may oust Apotheker for former eBay CEO Meg Whitman

HP may replace current CEO Leo Apotheker with former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, AllThingsD reported on Wednesday. Reportedly, HP board members are not pleased with “a series of management mishaps,” inside HP. It is unclear if those mishaps are related to HP’s recent decision to kill off its webOS devices and spin off its PC business, which resulted in recent job cuts from the former Palm team. The board may be more upset HP’s stock has tanked more than 40% since Apotheker took the reins in September, 2010. In any case, if Apotheker does get relieved of his duties as CEO, one analyst has suggested he will still have made $9.4 million for the year. Whitman, who is also on HP’s board, is reportedly interested in the job but the appointment is far from official, AllThingsD said. Whitman’s experience in the consumer market might help HP if ever does decide to revive the TouchPad and other webOS hardware efforts. Whitman served as eBay’s chief executive for 10 years until 2008 before trying her hand in politics. More →

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Apps & Software
September 14, 2011
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iOS games ‘absolutely not under consideration’ says Nintendo boss

By on September 14, 2011 at 7:30 PM.

iOS games ‘absolutely not under consideration’ says Nintendo boss

Nintendo’s president Satoru Iwata recently reiterated that Nintendo will not develop games for Apple’s iPad, iPod and iPhone, despite recent pressure from investors to jump on the iOS bandwagon. “This is absolutely not under consideration,” Iwata told the Japanese news outlet Nikkei following the company’s recent 3DS press conference. “If we did this, Nintendo would cease to be Nintendo. Having a hardware development team in-house is a major strength. It’s the duty of management to make use of those strengths. It’s probably the correct decision in the sense that the moment we started to release games on smartphones we’d make profits. However, I believe my responsibility is not to short term profits, but to Nintendo’s mid and long term competitive strength.” Several analysts have argued that Nintendo will continue to struggle against mobile gaming platforms that offer a larger selection of free or $0.99 games. Nintendo recently dropped the price of the 3DS to $169.99, which helped increase sales, but the system is still expected to miss sales targets for the year. According to AdriaSang, which translated the Nikkei article, Iwata believes Nintendo’s current business model works and he expects that to be reflected during the holiday shopping season. More →

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Business
September 13, 2011
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Carol Bartz surrenders spot on Yahoo board

By on September 13, 2011 at 12:00 AM.

Carol Bartz surrenders spot on Yahoo board

“I want to make sure that the employees don’t believe that I’ve abandoned them. I would never abandon them.” Those are the words of former Yahoo chief executive officer Carol Bartz who was fired from the firm over the phone last week but who said she would remain on the company’s board. Bartz no longer has a position on the board as of Monday, however, and it is possible that is a result of a recent interview with Fortune during which Bartz said Yahoo “f***ed me over” and called the rest of the company’s board “doofuses.” “On September 9, 2011, Carol Bartz resigned from the board of directors of Yahoo! Inc., effective immediately,” Charles Sipkins, a spokesperson for the board said in an email obtained by Reuters on Sunday. Bartz’s words could have cost her $10 million, according to Fortune which noted the exec had a non-disparagement clause in her contract with Yahoo. More →

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