RIM's Top Marketer to Leave Company

From DailyTech: s this a sign of things to come? Just weeks before one of its most important product releases in years, Research In Motion's Chief Marketing Officer is leaving the company according to The Wall Street Journal.

Citing "personal reasons," CMO Keith Pardy is leaving after a two-year stint at the Canadian company. WSJ reports that Pardy will continue to help the company over a six-month transition period.

Pardy, who was hired from Nokia in early 2009, is leaving RIM just as it readies its anticipated PlayBook tablet. The future of the much-maligned Blackberry manufacturer hinges largely on the success or failure of the PlayBook.

The WSJ report characterizes Pardy's departure as a setback:

"It reflects larger turmoil in RIM, as the company struggles to remake itself from a maker of corporate-workhorse devices known for security and reliability to a producer of hip, media-savvy gadgets that can compete with the likes of Apple Inc.'s iPhones and iPads, say people familiar with RIM's strategy."

That explains the BlackBerry Torch ad featuring the Philadelphia-based producer and DJ Diplo, and other spots of the same ilk.

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