8-K
BLACKBERRY Ltd (BB)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934
April 27, 2021
Date of Report (date of earliest event reported)
BlackBerry Limited
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Canada | 001-38232 | 98-0164408 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (Commission File Number) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | ||
| 2200 University Ave East | ||||
| Waterloo | Ontario | Canada | N2K 0A7 | |
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) |
(519) 888-7465
Registrant's telephone number, including area code
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered |
|---|---|---|
| Common Shares | BB | New York Stock Exchange |
| Common Shares | BB | Toronto Stock Exchange |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
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Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
Appointment of Tom Eacobacci as President and Chief Operating Officer
Tom Eacobacci, age 50, has served as President of BlackBerry Limited (the “Company”) since June 15, 2020. On April 27, 2021, the Company announced that Mr. Eacobacci has been promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer.
In his additional role as Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Eacobacci will assist Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Chen with implementing the Company’s corporate business plans and strategy. He will also serve as Acting General Manager of the Company’s Cyber Security business unit, which combines the BlackBerry Spark® software platform together with the company’s critical event management and secure communications solutions.
Mr. Eacobacci’s compensation, benefits and termination entitlements have not changed in connection with the promotion. See the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K , filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 2, 2020, for a description of those arrangements as well as further background on Mr. Eacobacci’s business experience, which information is incorporated by reference herein.
There are also no family relationships between Mr. Eacobacci and any director or executive officer of the Company and he has no direct or indirect material interest in any transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
A copy of the press release announcing Mr. Eacobacci’s promotion is filed as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits
| Exhibit No. | Description |
|---|---|
| 99.1 | BlackBerry Limited press release dated April 27, 2021 |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document) |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| BlackBerry Limited | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date: | April 29, 2021 | By: | /s/ Steve Rai | |||
| Name: | Steve Rai | |||||
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer |
Document
BlackBerry Strengthens Management Team and Aligns Business Units to Increase Focus on Growth in Key Cybersecurity and IoT Market Opportunities
Tom Eacobacci Promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer; Mattias Eriksson Appointed President of BlackBerry IoT Business Unit
WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(April 27, 2021) - BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB) (TSX:BB) today announced steps to further align operations and go-to-market efforts to its key market opportunities as well as strengthen its management team. This follows the company’s previous announcement to separately report revenues of its operating business units in the new fiscal year.
With Software and Services growth as the top priority for fiscal year 2022, BlackBerry will organize around two business units: Cyber Security and IoT. To drive focus in each of these market opportunities BlackBerry is appointing business unit general managers with deep industry expertise to provide direction to strategy, engineering, direct and channel sales, customer support and field marketing.
BlackBerry has promoted President Tom Eacobacci to BlackBerry President and Chief Operating Officer. Eacobacci will also serve as Acting General Manager of the Cyber Security business unit, which combines BlackBerry Spark® together with the company’s critical event management and secure communications solutions. Eacobacci, who brings deep expertise in enterprise software, will continue to drive the company’s growth in the highly attractive cybersecurity market where BlackBerry® technology, driven by Cylance® AI, has unique competitive differentiation. Additionally, Eacobacci will assist Executive Chairman and CEO John Chen to implement BlackBerry’s corporate business plans and strategy.
BlackBerry is also announcing the appointment of Mattias Eriksson as President and General Manager of the newly-formed BlackBerry IoT business unit. The business unit consists of BlackBerry Technology Solutions or BTS (BlackBerry® QNX®, BlackBerry Certicom®, BlackBerry Radar® and BlackBerry Jarvis™) and BlackBerry IVY™. Eriksson will be responsible for driving IoT platform strategy and operations and will join BlackBerry on May 3rd, reporting to Mr. Chen.
Eriksson brings over two decades of experience in automotive location data services, mobile communications, and embedded software. Most recently Eriksson held the position of Senior Vice President, Global Head of Product for HERE Technologies where he was responsible for
developing and executing the company’s location services platform strategy and product roadmap. Eriksson also held leadership positions with Motorola, Siemens, and Arthur D. Little.
“Cybersecurity and IoT are recognized high-growth markets where BlackBerry can add tremendous value. BlackBerry is applying its world-class security expertise to address the needs of these markets, said Mr. Chen. “The promotion of Tom, addition of Mattias, and the alignment of our business around our key market opportunities sharpens our operational focus to unlock the company’s shareholder value.”
“BlackBerry is delivering the next generation of cloud-based, AI cybersecurity solutions to address today’s and tomorrow’s cybersecurity threats and ensure organizations of all sizes remain safe, secure and productive,” said Eacobacci. “I am excited to work with John to execute this next phase of our corporate strategy.”
“BlackBerry is a leader in the IoT and embedded software systems market with its software installed in an impressive number of endpoints. BlackBerry is poised to extend this position by accelerating the adoption of emerging automotive connected services with the BlackBerry IVY platform, as well as by targeting other related industries,” said Eriksson. “I am eager to help John and the team realize the company’s potential in this exciting market.”
About BlackBerry
BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company secures more than 500M endpoints including 175M cars on the road today. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy solutions, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint security, endpoint management, encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry’s vision is clear - to secure a connected future you can trust.
BlackBerry. Intelligent Security. Everywhere.
For more information, visit BlackBerry.com and follow @BlackBerry.
Trademarks, including but not limited to BLACKBERRY and EMBLEM Design are the trademarks or registered trademarks of BlackBerry Limited, and the exclusive rights to such trademarks are expressly reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. BlackBerry is not responsible for any third-party products or services.
Media Contact:
BlackBerry Media Relations
+1 (519) 597-7273
mediarelations@BlackBerry.com
Investor Contact:
BlackBerry Investor Relations
+1 (519) 888-7465
investor_relations@blackberry.com