#64 Thorsten Heins takes over at RIM

Thorsten Heins

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Since taking over as the CEO of Research in Motion in January, Thorsten Heins has opted to go in a different direction than his predecessors. Aside from a few missteps here and there, Heins has been more open, held himself more accountable, and shown an enthusiasm when touting the BlackBerry 10 devices. He spent the first few months cleaning house and swapping in a new management team.

Of course, there's still that bit of old RIM, with the company yet again delaying the launch of BlackBerry 10 until next year. It's a disappointment for many faithful BlackBerry fans -- 80 million, as Heins is keen to point out. The future is uncertain for RIM, but there's been a higher degree of optimism surrounding the company than there has been in the past. Some of that is because of Heins, as well as the looming BlackBerry 10 launch.

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