Executive Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
As Executive Chairman and CEO of BlackBerry Limited, John Chen is responsible for defining the company’s vision and goals, setting its strategy, and ensuring the team’s execution matches corporate objectives. Appointed in November 2013, John has led BlackBerry through a successful pivot from hardware icon to software leader. Today the company is poised to leverage its brand strength and heritage in mobile security along with its enterprise cybersecurity and embedded software growth engines to accelerate into the Enterprise of Things, an emerging category with billions of connected devices and massive market potential.
John came to BlackBerry a distinguished leader and proven turnaround executive with more than 40 years of engineering and management experience along with a reputation that extends well-beyond the technology industry. Prior to joining BlackBerry, John served as Chairman and CEO of Sybase Inc. where he re-invented the company and led it through 55 consecutive quarters of profitability, providing outstanding shareholder returns during his 15-year tenure.
A global business leader with a strong interest in policy, John has testified before Congress on U.S.–China trade relations and was appointed by U.S. President George W. Bush to serve on the President's Export Council. In 2006, he was appointed co-chair of the Secure Borders and Open Doors Advisory Committee. Additionally, John chaired the U.S.-China Policy Advisory Roundtable for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), served on the Board of the National Committee on U.S. China Relations since 2012, and has been a member of the Committee of 100 since 1997 and its Chairman from 2009-2011.
John graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a master's in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). John has an honorary professorship from Shanghai University, and honorary doctorates from San Jose State University, City University of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. John has received awards from the U.S.-Asia Institute, the U.S.-China Policy Foundation, the California-Asia Business Council, and the U.S.-Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation.
John served on the Board of Directors for The Walt Disney Company (2004-2019) and Wells Fargo & Co. (2006-2018). He is also active in the not-for-profit community, and is a trustee of Caltech, board member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, member of CFR, national trustee of The First Tee and Governor of the San Francisco Symphony.
Chief Revenue Officer
Steve Capelli is the Chief Revenue Officer responsible for coordinating revenue generating processes and cross functional synergies to improve operational efficiency and drive revenue growth across BlackBerry. Steve is also responsible for our Licensing and Radar business units as well as sales compensation to support field operations. Previously, Steve was Chief Financial Officer responsible for all aspects of BlackBerry’s financial operations.
Steve has 25 years of executive experience leading finance and operations organizations in the software and technology industry.
Prior to joining BlackBerry, Steve was President of Worldwide Field Operations at Sybase with responsibility for more than $1 billion in annual revenue. Steve also led international operations at Sybase as General Manager with responsibility for sales, operations, finance, customer support, marketing and human resources. Prior to Sybase, Steve was Chief Financial Officer of Siemens Pyramid. Earlier in his career, he served in controllership roles at Digital Equipment Corporation, Unisys Corporation and WR Grace and Company.
Steve received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from The College of New Jersey and an MBA in finance from Rutgers University. He currently serves on corporate boards with representation on audit, compensation and governance committees.
Head of BlackBerry Spark Field Operations & Marketing
David Castignola is responsible for global sales including direct channels, ISV’s and alliances, customer support, professional services, product marketing and field marketing, for the BlackBerry Spark group.
Previously, David served as Chief Operating Officer of BlackBerry Cylance. He came to BlackBerry as part of the Cylance acquisition where he served as Chief Revenue Officer since 2018. Prior to Cylance, he was the first Chief Revenue Officer at Optiv, a $2.5B security systems integrator, where he doubled the company’s growth to 35%. Earlier, David had spent two decades at RSA where his most recent role was Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales.
David earned his Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Michigan State University.
Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
Randall Cook joined BlackBerry in August 2018 to assume oversight of the company’s worldwide legal affairs, including litigation, M&A, regulatory compliance, contracting and IP guardianship, as well as Global Corporate Security for BlackBerry Ltd.
Randall has a wide range of expertise as an award-winning technology company general counsel, and a track record of success going back 25 years in public and private companies, private practice and U.S. Government service. Immediately prior to BlackBerry, he was General Counsel for software-maker Calypso Technology. That followed more than 13 years at Advent Software, where he served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, and where his legal department was recognized as a national Best Legal Department finalist by Corporate Counsel magazine and Best Legal Department for M&A among emerging companies by the Recorder.
Early in his career, Randall also held several positions with the U.S. Government, advising senior officials on technology, intellectual property and international trade issues, and serving on interagency committees. His roles included serving as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C. where he was the lead prosecutor for intellectual property piracy and other cases. He also served as Special Counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, and as an attorney in the Executive Office of the President at the U.S. Trade Representative’s office.
Chief Government Affairs and Public Policy Officer
Marjorie Dickman is Chief Government Affairs and Public Policy Officer for BlackBerry. In this role, Marjorie is responsible for strategic oversight of the company's global government relations, regulatory affairs and public policy operations. Additionally, she is responsible for the company’s participation in industry standards committees.
Marjorie comes to BlackBerry with over 22 years of government relations, regulatory affairs, and public policy experience. She joins the company following a 16-year career with Intel Corporation, where she most recently served as Global Director and Associate General Counsel for IoT and Automated Driving Policy, managing a global team across the U.S., Europe, China and Japan. Prior to Intel, Marjorie practiced law with a prominent Washington, D.C. firm, advising clients on FCC regulatory matters.
She holds a J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. cum laude in Public Policy from Duke University. She serves on the Boards of the Consumer Technology Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Technology Engagement Center, and the Eno Center for Transportation.
President of BlackBerry
Tom Eacobacci is President of BlackBerry, responsible for sales, field marketing, engineering, and customer support for the BlackBerry Spark and BlackBerry IoT Solutions groups.
Tom brings to BlackBerry 25 years of customer-facing and go-to-market leadership expertise. He joins the company from Citrix where he served as Senior Vice President and General Manager for the Americas responsible for driving sales, marketing, and operations for the largest geographic region at Citrix. During his tenure with Citrix, he held global leadership roles across sales, services, customer success, and sales operations. Prior to Citrix, he spent seven years with Accenture managing and designing application systems and processes for various large international clients.
Tom earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance, from Georgetown University in 1993. He serves on the Board of Directors for ActiveViam with representation on the compensation committee.
Executive Vice President, BlackBerry Spark Group Products and Value Added Solutions
Billy leads the BlackBerry Spark Group Product Management and Software Development organizations.
Prior to joining BlackBerry, Billy served as Senior Vice President of Product & Technology Operations at Sybase, Inc. where he was responsible for Sybase technology research, product development and customer support. He held many other leadership positions within Sybase, including General Manager of the OEM Business Unit, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the e-Business Division, and Vice President of the Product Development, Enterprise Solutions Division. He has also been a Director of Engineering at Unisys and Siemens.
Billy earned a MS in Computer Science from California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California and a BS in Electrical Engineering from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
Chief Financial Officer
As Chief Financial Officer, Steve Rai is responsible for oversight of global internal and external financial reporting and compliance, financial strategy and management, business unit support, investor relations, and equity administration. Previously, Steve was Deputy Chief Financial Officer, and prior to that was Vice President and Corporate Controller for BlackBerry. In these roles he was responsible for overseeing various aspects of the CFO Organization, including financial reporting and compliance, non-field financial operations including corporate financial planning & analysis, treasury, procurement, facilities, insurance and equity administration.
Steve brings more than 25 years of progressive experience in financial management, business advisory and assurance services to U.S. and Canadian public companies, ranging from start-ups to multinational corporations.
Before joining BlackBerry, Steve was Corporate Controller for PMC-Sierra. He previously held senior management positions with TSX Venture Exchange and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Steve holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with an accounting and finance major from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. He is a Certified Public Accountant through the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Illinois (USA) and a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants in British Columbia, Canada.
Executive Vice President, Human Resources
Nita is responsible for leading the HR team to design and deliver global programs, initiatives, partnerships, solutions and services in all facets of HR to support the achievement of the company’s operational goals and strategic objectives.
Before joining BlackBerry, Nita served as Chief People Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer for SAP Cloud and SuccessFactors. Prior to that, she was Vice President of Worldwide Human Resources for Sybase, Inc., where she was responsible for providing and implementing high quality, state-of-the-art human resource and security services and programs for Sybase employees, management, executives and campuses worldwide.
Nita has an MBA from Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, Calif., and has also completed several courses towards an MA in Counseling Psychology from the same institution. She earned her BS in Business Administration with finance and accounting major with honors.
Chief Marketing Officer
As Chief Marketing Officer, Mark Wilson is responsible for delivering the BlackBerry message through thought leadership and other opportunities that promote the brand. He also leads communications and corporate events.
Before joining BlackBerry, he was Chief Marketing Officer for Avaya, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Sybase, an SAP Company, leader of the strategy practice at KPMG Consulting’s Information, Communication and Entertainment Group, and a Marketing Manager for AT&T. Mark was named by BtoB Magazine as one of the Best Marketers from 2009-2011 and 2013. He was also named to the 2013 FierceCMO list of CMOs to watch.
Mark holds an MBA and an MA in public policy studies from The University of Chicago. He received his BA from University of California at Santa Barbara.
Senior Leaders
Chief Technology Officer
Appointed in June 2018, Charles Eagan is the Chief Technology Officer for BlackBerry. In this role, Charles is responsible for the advancement of new technologies, driving innovation within emerging markets and advancing security capabilities that leverage AI and Machine Learning. He is also responsible for technology partnerships and overseeing the standardization and integration of all company products with an emphasis on helping drive BlackBerry’s Internet of Things platform.
Charles was previously the Global Head of Electronics at Dyson Ltd (U.K.), focused on IoT device deployment. Prior to that he served as BlackBerry’s Global Head of Device Software, and spearheaded development of the BlackBerry 10 operating system and the transition to secure Android.
Charles was formerly Vice President of Engineering for QNX Software, where he concentrated on the automotive and embedded markets. He also worked at Cisco and directed development of the seminal CRS-1 carrier routing system.
In 2008, Charles co-founded Crank Software, a company dedicated to the development of embedded tools and technologies that enabled rapid building of highly functional graphical interfaces. Earlier in his career, he built connected devices for Honda in the areas of process control, factory automation and robotics.
Charles is a noted speaker, thought leader and IoT expert who has been at the forefront of new frontiers in digital connectivity for over three decades. He graduated with honors from the University of Waterloo (Canada) with a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and electrical engineering minor.
Senior Vice President, Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships
Vito leads BlackBerry's Corporate Development activities, including strategy and M&A. He is also responsible for key strategic partnerships and alliances and BlackBerry product pricing.
Vito joined BlackBerry after more than a decade working as a technology investment banker in New York and London, at Morgan Stanley and, most recently, as Managing Director at Perella Weinberg Partners.
He has also worked at Naspers as Corporate Development Principal and held several engineering roles at Cisco Systems earlier in his career.
Vito received a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from both the Politecnico di Milano and the University of Illinois, and a Masters of Business Administration from INSEAD.
Chief Information Officer
Chris Hummel is the Chief Information Officer at BlackBerry. In this role, he is responsible for providing insights to the executive leadership team on key technological innovations, ensuring IT considerations drive key initiatives across the company, and maintaining the highest level of enterprise security and employee privacy.
Chris joined BlackBerry in 2010 and has over 30 years of IT leadership experience that includes service delivery, project management, network integration, and new business development across international locations.
Prior to BlackBerry, Chris worked at Avaya in Consulting and Advanced Services, and Nortel Networks in Network Integration and Solutions Deployment.
Senior Vice President and Co-Head of BlackBerry Technology Solutions – Sales
As Senior Vice President and Co-Head of BlackBerry Technology Solutions (BTS), Kaivan Karimi is responsible for driving growth of embedded software and cybersecurity-related solutions for mission-critical applications in automotive, medical, defense, and industrial markets. His responsibilities include sales, product marketing, partner ecosystem management, and operationalizing growth strategies.
Kaivan has over 23 years of operational and leadership experience in the software and semiconductor industries focused on automotive, telecom, and industrial markets. Prior to joining BlackBerry, he served as the Vice President and General Manager of Atmel wireless MCUs and IoT business unit. Kaivan holds graduate degrees in engineering (MSEE) and business (MBA).
Chief Information Security Officer
John McClurg is Chief Information Security Officer. In this role, he leads all aspects of BlackBerry’s information security program globally, ensuring the development and implementation of cybersecurity policies and procedures.
John comes to BlackBerry from Cylance where he served as Vice President CISO office. Previously he served as Chief Security Officer at Dell and held senior positions with Honeywell International, Lucent Technologies/Bell Laboratories, the U.S. Intelligence Community, the Department of Energy, the FBI, and the CIA. John Co-Chaired the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) of the U.S. Department of State and served as the founding Chairman of the International Security Foundation.
John holds a J.D. degree from Brigham Young University, MA in Organizational Behavior, BS and BA degrees in University Studies and Philosophy from Brigham Young, and advanced doctoral studies in Philosophical Hermeneutics at UNC-Chapel Hill and UCLA.
Senior Vice President and Chief Security Architect
Ryan works within the office of the CTO to define technology strategy and architecture, that will help integrate technology across BlackBerry and focus it towards reducing customer risk.
Ryan has been in the security industry for over 20 years and has a long history in both offensive and defensive security. Ryan came to BlackBerry as part of the Cylance acquisition. He was co-founder and Chief Scientist of Cylance and led the architecture behind Cylance’s mathematical engine and groundbreaking approach to security. Prior to co-founding Cylance, he previously served as Chief Scientist for McAfee focused on technology strategy, and as a Distinguished Engineer at eEye Digital Security focused on building security assessment tools.
He has published numerous articles, papers, and books, and is a frequent speaker at conferences around the world on the topics of security, privacy, machine learning, and entrepreneurship. His research has led to numerous innovations in both offensive and defensive security technology and has published over 20 patents in the security and data science fields. He is known as the discoverer and primary analyst of the “Code Red” computer worm and contributed to many other analyses of significant threats over his career.
Vice President of Business Operations and Strategic Accounts, Office of the CEO
Neelam Sandhu is responsible for the operations of the CEO office, including supporting the CEO in managing key customer and government relationships globally, preparation of and for internal and external content and engagements, and driving special cross-functional projects to deliver operational efficiencies.
Neelam also leads Customer Success for BlackBerry’s strategic accounts worldwide, across regulated industries. Additionally, Neelam manages BlackBerry’s travel strategy and operations.
Since joining BlackBerry in 2009 Neelam has held various positions, based out of the company’s United Kingdom, New York and California offices. Her responsibilities have included Brand Management, Brand Messaging, Marketing Operations, Go-To-Market planning and Corporate Strategic Initiatives.
Neelam Chairs the Consumer Technology Associations Artificial Intelligence Committee. She holds a Bachelor’s degree, with Honors, in Business Management, from the University of Leicester and an Executive Certification in Financial Analysis from the University of California at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
Senior Vice President and Co-Head BlackBerry Technology Solutions - Products, Engineering and Operations
As Senior Vice President and Co-Head of BlackBerry Technology Solutions (BTS), John Wall is responsible for the planning, design, and development of QNX Software Systems (embedded software), Certicom (cryptography applications) and Paratek (RF antenna tuning) products and the direction of its engineering services programs.
John has been an integral member of the BlackBerry QNX team since 1993. He has held a variety of roles within the organization, including vice president of engineering and services. He holds a Bachelor’s of Engineering, in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Carleton University in Ottawa.