Shareholders pressure rim to restructure management: Cancel Double CEO architecture

The BlackBerry maker Rim is under greater management pressure as shareholders call for more independent oversight responsibilities for the board, Beijing time June 11 morning. The regulatory documents disclosed by shareholders in Friday show that Rim shareholders, Canadian investment company Northwest & Ethical Investments have asked Rim to separate its CEO and Chairman's responsibilities by appointing an independent board member as chairman.　　Jim Barcilly (Jim balsillie) and Mack Lazaridis (Mike Lazaridis) are currently joint CEOs and co-Chairmen of Rim. Northwest & Ethical Investments, vice president of Robert Vocker, said: "Split positions can make the board better able to raise sharp questions to CEOs and other managers." The Chairman and CEO are two different positions and should be held by different people. "As RIM's smartphone market share is increasingly being robbed by Apple and Android handset makers, the company faces more scrutiny from investors and analysts.　　RIM lowered its profit-guidance forecasts for April this year, and its share price has fallen 37% per cent this year. Management architecture Northern Nomura analyst Samit Carnede (Sameet kanade), rim should cancel the two-CEO structure and let Lazaridis be CEO alone.　　The Swiss bank analyst said last week that Rim's focus was too high under Balsillie and Lazaridis's governance. Northwest & Ethical Investments's proposal is contained in RIM's agency announcement and will be voted on at the July 12 shareholder meeting.　　But Rim advises shareholders to veto the proposal and argues that the external chief executive has been able to ensure the independence of its directors. Walker said Northwest & Ethical Investments had expressed similar concerns in January this year, but did not receive a response until February, and decided to submit a solution.　　The company held two meetings with rim management in March and April this year.　　Balsillie, who resigned as chairman in March 2007 for an option to reverse the investigation, went back to co-chair in December. "RIM's decision to merge the Co-Chairs and the co-CEO was unexpected," Walker said.　　"As the inventor of the BlackBerry's e-mail system, Lazaridis has been working with Balsillie as the CEO of Rim since 1992. Share declines according to comscore, a US market research firm, Rim slipped 4.7% per cent in the US market in April to 2 in the year to 3 months ago.5.7%.　　Swiss bank analysts believe the company's income in Latin America is also likely to be threatened by Android and cut its target share price from $60 trillion to $45.　　RIM's share price fell 1.05 U.S. dollars to $36.56, or 2.8%, in the NYSE's regular deal in Friday. "I don't think separating chairman and CEO responsibilities really solves the problem," said Matt Thornton, an analyst at Avian Nomura, an American securities firm. Investors are frustrated, and the mood for restructuring management has been brewing for a long time. "He believes that since Balsillie and Lazaridis have been involved in management and investment since the company was founded, any change in their position is difficult to achieve and will bring new concerns to shareholders."　　Balsillie holds a 5.9% per cent stake in Rim, while Lazaridis's stake is 5.4%. "The problem is that they have a 10% per cent stake in the company and a deep relationship between the sales and technology sectors," Thornton said. If you want to cancel the double CEO architecture, you will create confusion within your organization. (PEI)