RIM has announced the appointment of Kristian Tear (pictured) and Frank Boulben to its executive board, with Tear serving as chief operating officer and Boulben as chief marketing officer.

Joining RIM from Sony Mobile, Tear's new position will see him managing the company's research and development, products, global sales, manufacturing, and supply chain.

Discussing his new role, Tear commented, "I look forward to working with the talented RIM employees and harnessing their ingenuity and creativity for the benefit of more than 77 million BlackBerry users around the world." 

"I also look forward to helping RIM attract a brand new generation of BlackBerry users."

The guys in marketing

Boulben, meanwhile, comes to RIM from wireless broadband outfit LightSquared - where he served as executive vice president of strategy, marketing and sales - and also bringing experience from Vodafone and Orange Group to the table.

"RIM is a pioneer in the mobile world and the BlackBerry brand is a global icon," Boulben effused. "I believe RIM will once again change the way individuals and enterprises engage with each other and the world around them."

"I could not resist the opportunity to be part of that transformation."

Emerging trends

RIM's president and CEO Thorsten Heins was naturally pleased with his latest hires, explaining that "Kristian and Frank bring extensive knowledge of the rapidly changing wireless global market and will help RIM as we sharpen our focus on delivering long-term value to our stakeholders."

"Most importantly, both Kristian and Frank possess a keen understanding of the emerging trends in mobile communications and computing," concluded Heins.

Those are qualities that RIM will need to exploit if it's to turn its ailing business around, and make a success of its forthcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system.

[source: RIM]