Joe McPhillips

BlackBerry’s Joe McPhillips resigns as APAC channel lead

Replacement yet to be named

Joe McPhillips, sales director for the BlackBerry Asia Pacific channel, has left the role just over two years after joining Cylance, a cybersecurity vendor acquired by BlackBerry in 2019.

McPhillips joined BlackBerry after several months of Cylance as APAC Channel Director. Shortly after joining Cylance, BlackBerry announced the acquisition of US $ 1.4 billion in security vendors, which closed in February of the following year.

Prior to joining Cylance, McPhillips spent several years as a channel sales lead for fellow cybersecurity vendor Symantec through Blue Coat Systems, which it acquired for US $ 4.7 billion in 2016.

McPhillips has also been involved in roles for channels and partners such as Intel Security (McAfee), Riverbed Technology, and Commvault.

“It’s time to take a well-earned break just two years after joining one of the most exciting companies in my career,” McPhillips said in a LinkedIn post.

“Meeting and working with some of the smartest and most wonderful people in cybersecurity has certainly been challenging and rewarding in many ways over the last two years. Thanks to the whole Cylance family.”

McPhillips said it was time to take a break during the summer to prepare for the “next big thing” for the New Year.

A BlackBerry spokesperson confirmed McPhillips’ resignation, but did not provide additional details about a potential alternative to the role he resigned.

The move will take place just weeks after BlackBerry merged the two partner programs in the wake of the 2019 acquisition of Cylance.

The integration gives partners access to the vendor’s entire portfolio of solutions, including enterprise products and security under the integrated BlackBerry Partner Program.