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December 22, 2013
Commentary
Can Chen Lead BlackBerry to Success?
 

Time Magazine once wrote "One day [this company] was a major technology company with assets to make any self respecting techno-conglomerate salivate. The next day [this company] was a chaotic mess without a strategic vision and certainly no future."

 

The date was February 1996, and the company in question was Apple Computer, which was then at or approaching its lowest point. What happened, of course, was Steve Jobs' triumphant return in 1997 and subsequent 14-year run that was nothing short of legendary.

 

As BlackBerry faces similar skepticism, Therese Poletti of MarketWatch asks if they too have the potential to turn themselves around after the hiring of Sybase former chief executive John Chen as interim CEO.

 

In this piece, Marty Wolf comments that they have "a puncher's chance." By capitalizing on BlackBerry's strengths -- and turning the company into a services provider -- Chen may be able to come back with a knockout punch.

 

But doing so will be an uphill battle, and Chen faces many challenges before being able to execute a Jobsian turnaround.

 

Read the complete MarkWatch article here, and see our previous coverage of BlackBerry below.

About martinwolf    

 

                
             San Francisco, CA                                                Bangalore, India

With offices in San Francisco and Bangalore, India, martinwolf is a leading middle market M&A Advisory focused on companies with services-based business models. Since 1997, our team has completed more than 115 transactions in eight countries. We are a five-year member of the Merrill Lynch PS Referral Network, and were selected as ICICI Bank's (India's leading private bank) exclusive strategic partner for acquiring U.S. IT companies. 

 

The firm is also a presenting sponsor of the Global IT M&A Forum

 

martinwolf is a member of FINRA and SIPC. For more information, visit www.martinwolf.com.

 

To learn more about martinwolf, contact Matthew Putzulu at [email protected].

 

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"I have done this before and seen the same movie before."

 

John Chen

 

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