BlackBerry Names New COO, Marty Beard, ex-CEO Of Enterprise Cloud Startup LiveOps

To bolster its status against competitors and boost its influence in the enterprise field, BlackBerry has publicized the appointment of Marty Beard, the former CEO and Chairman of LiveOps, a cloud-based contact center provider, as its latest COO.

BlackBerry’s CEO picked Beard, a known personality from their mutual time at Sybase where Beard acted as the president of Sybase 365, a segment devoted to mobile commerce and messaging services. This tactical move underscores BlackBerry’s dedication to building a robust, experienced team with the capability to expand BlackBerry’s enterprise operations.

As the newest COO, Beard is expected to supervise numerous departments, such as marketing, customer support, quality control, and BlackBerry 10 apps development. His tenure commences right away.

Beard’s appointment bears significant ramifications. Primarily, it demonstrates BlackBerry’s tenacity and drive to keep the momentum going despite the tough market competition.

This is particularly vital for BlackBerry, which has seen a 10% decrease in stock price following the announcement of the Apple and IBM partnership. Despite the obstacles BlackBerry had faced in the recent past, including a shrinking market share in smartphone platforms taken over by Android devices and iPhones, the company’s stock was most recently recorded at $10.13 per share, representing a 0.9% rise from Friday’s closing price.

Moreover, Beard’s selection hints at BlackBerry’s capacity to continually recruit high-caliber executive leaders—a critical aspect underscored by CEO Chen in his remarks about the new appointment.

Chen mentioned, “BlackBerry continues to draw in top-quality talent to the company. Marty brings with him an extensive experience in operations, marketing and providing customers with the best possible technologies and processes.”

Finally, the appointment of Beard highlights BlackBerry’s strategic focus to carve out its niche in the market and differentiate its services from its competitors. Under Chen’s guidance, BlackBerry has focused on the enterprise market segment, which has significantly contributed to the branding of the company.

By naming a seasoned leader like Beard, known for his successful in enterprise cloud services startups and past associations with Sybase and Oracle, BlackBerry sends a lucid message to the market about its commitment to providing superior services, as opposed to hardware, for business users.

source: Ingrid Lunden /TechCrunch

Light edits were made in 2025 to improve clarity and relevance.