BlackBerry extends contract of CEO Chen through 2023
WATERLOO — BlackBerry Ltd. is extending executive chair and chief executive John Chen’s contract through to November 2023.
Chen joined BlackBerry in November 2013 and has led the company through a restructuring that has seen it transform from a smartphone maker into a cybersecurity software and services firm.
BlackBerry lead director Prem Watsa says Chen’s leadership is critical and that the board has determined that it’s in the best of interests of the company to keep him at the helm.
“John engineered a successful turnaround and has the company repositioned to apply its strengths and assets to the Enterprise of Things, an emerging category with massive potential,” Watsa aid Thursday in a news release. “John’s leadership is critical and the Board has determined that it is in the best of interests of BlackBerry and its shareholders to continue his service through November 2023.”
The five-year contract extension is weighted toward longterm performance-based equity and cash awards, in addition to a time-based equity award, the company says.
It adds there will be no change to Chen’s base salary, short-term cash incentive or benefits. BlackBerry is expected to report its fourth-quarter results on March 28. Before coming to BlackBerry, Chen engineered a turnaround in the late 1990s at Sybase.