John Chen wasn't exactly an unknown before he accepted position as CEO at BlackBerry but since joining the company he's been tossed into the spotlight even further and has people paying attention to BlackBerry and what he might be doing next. Over at Canadian Business, they've now released their 'Canada's 50 Most Powerful Business People' list and perhaps, it's no surprise John Chen is in the top 10 coming in at 8.

CEO, BlackBerry - Has us cheering for Canada's tech darling once again

The nation's hopes of reclaiming its place as a global technology powerhouse rest with BlackBerry CEO John Chen. The country has plenty of other successful tech firms, of course, but none as exciting, influential or groundbreaking as BlackBerry once was. The company is the symbolic (if arrhythmia-stricken) heart of the country's tech sector, and Chen is galvanizing support for it again. He's put BlackBerry on track to serve a small but potentially lucrative niche of business clients and brought more focus to the company than it's had in years. If he keeps it up, Chen could allow us to regain our bragging rights as an innovation hot spot.

Joining the BlackBerry CEO at number 6 is Fairfax Financial Holdings CEO and BlackBerry investor Prem Watsa who the publication notes as being 'one of the country's savviest investors' noting 'he tripled his money earlier this year after selling part of his stake in the Bank of Ireland. It's no surprise that when Watsa speaks, the market listens.'

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