RIM chief marketer Keith Pardy quits before PlayBook launch
updated 03:35 pm EST, Fri March 4, 2011
RIM exec Pardy bows out ahead of tablet
RIM's Chief Marketing Officer Keith Pardy said on Friday that he was quitting the company for "personal reasons." He didn't explain the causes but said he had let RIM know a month earlier. The executive will stay in touch for the next six months to help transition over.
The timing is unfortunate for RIM, which is about to launch the BlackBerry PlayBook within a matter of weeks. As its first tablet and the first using its completely new, QNX-based mobile OS, the PlayBook is crucial to the company staying relevant just as the iPad 2 and Android 3.0 tablets are shipping.
A replacement hasn't been named for Pardy and could leave the company partially rudderless at the very point it's promoting the PlayBook.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2008
Personal reasons?
He can tell his life will be a living h*** if he has to come up with a marketing plan to get consumers to buy the PlayBook after the iPad 2 gets into consumers' hands. Why would any self-respecting consumer want a PlayBook?