BlackBerry CEO John Chen to Exit as Tech Company Plans Split (1)

BlackBerry Ltd. Chief Executive Officer John Chen will leave the software company this week, ending a decade-long tenure that failed to deliver a turnaround in its fortunes.

BlackBerry made the announcement on Monday after the market closed, confirming an earlier report by The Globe and Mail newspaper. Richard Lynch will take the helm as chair and interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent replacement.

Chen is responsible for “saving BlackBerry and repositioning it as a software company with leading cybersecurity and IoT technologies,” Prem Watsa, BlackBerry’s lead director, said in a statement.

Weeks before Chen’s contract ...