John Chen sits down with CBC's The Exchange to discuss BlackBerry turnaround efforts

As you may have caught on our BBM Channel earlier, BlackBerry CEO John Chen recently sat down with CBC's The Exchange with Amanda Lang for an interview to discuss his company's turnaround efforts. If you weren't able to catch the interview when it aired, you can now watch the replay in its entirety. Aside from the turnaround effort discussions, Chen also addresses rumors surrounding any possible sale of BlackBerry.

"I don't have any intention to sell BlackBerry," said John Chen. Not until the BlackBerry shareholder has good value reflecting truly what we have. Then, if there is a potential proper suitor that would take care of our customers... I have a fiduciary responsibility to listen. But until then, there's not point in listening."

Also addressed in the interview, BlackBerry's hardware business and why John Chen continues to build smartphones. He says his reasoning for that decision is both practical and emotional.

"We make the most secure handset. Everybody, all of our competitors, will give that to us. Governments around the world are still using BlackBerry handsets," said Chen. "The emotional reason is, BlackBerry is iconic to the industry. We started this industry arguably."

A lot of the items mentioned have been addressed before, but it's still a great, candid interview with the CEO who openly admits there's still plenty of work ahead for BlackBerry in order to get things right. The interview clocks in at just under 20 mins and starts at around the 26:40 mark, you can check it out below or head on over to the CBC video site to view it there.

Via: CBC and The Exchange with Amanda Lang

Read more