BlackBerry shakes out executive ranks

BlackBerry is continuing a C-Level shakeout with the departure of the company's chief operating and marketing officers and a swap-out of its chief financial officer.

The smartphone pioneer said that chief operating officer Kristian Tear and chief marketing officer Frank Boulben "will leave the company".

Recruiting a new COO and CMO appears to be off the radar. Interim CEO John Chen said he instead looked forward "to working more directly with the talented teams of engineers, and the sales and marketing teams" to facilitate a "turnaround" in BlackBerry's fortunes.

Present chief financial officer Brian Bidulka is another casualty of the shake-out, however the CFO role will remain, as will Bidulka — at least for the time being.

The company's head of compliance, James Yersh, has been named as the new CFO. Bidulka will "stay on as a special adviser to the CEO for the remainder of the fiscal year to assist with the transition", BlackBerry said.

The latest shake-out comes after Thorsten Heins was let go earlier this month after less than two years as BlackBerry CEO. Chen is acting in the CEO role on an interim basis.