Jim Mackey, BlackBerry’s head of corporate development and strategy, left the technology company in mid-February, he said on Thursday, leaving a leadership gap as it transitions to software from smartphone hardware.
“It is true I left BlackBerry as of Feb. 13,” Mackey, who was executive vice president, executive operations, said response to a Reuters inquiry.
He did not give a reason and could not be reached for further comment.
BlackBerry, who hired Mackey in late 2013, did not announce his departure and Chief Operating Officer Marty Beard, in an interview on Thursday, declined to comment.
Mackey worked directly with BlackBerry Chief Executive John Chen, navigating the purchase and integration of a string of acquisitions and the signing of major partnership agreements.
Beard said in the interview that the company had largely completed its software portfolio and needed to push hard to win more customers, including by adding partners.
Beard said.
“The next part of it is the channel… You can’t do it only direct, you need partners that fill in the gaps.”
“The biggest issue we have is not getting invited to the table because the customer doesn’t know that BlackBerry is doing that. That’s the challenge.”
