In what could be the start of a troubling trend for Research in Motion (NSDQ: RIMM), another senior marketing executive has left the company as it prepares for an extremely difficult period that will involve layoffs and cost-cutting.
Brian Wallace, formerly vice president of digital marketing and media at RIM, has joined Samsung, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal that was confirmed by Samsung. Wallace’s LinkedIn profile (which still lists him as employed by RIM) says that he was responsible for RIM’s interactive marketing and social media efforts, among other marketing-related activities.
RIM has a tough story to tell at the moment if your job depends on making the company look good. It reported poor earnings last week and slashed its expectations for the upcoming year after delays in the rollout of new BlackBerry models mean it will have to navigate the important back-to-school shopping season without any new phones.
That means competitors might be sharpening their claws as they eye talented RIM executives who are not going to see a bump in their stock anytime soon. Wallace isn’t the first member of RIM’s marketing department to move on to other pastures this year, as Keith Pardy, the chief marketing officer at the company, stepped down just before RIM launched its Playbook tablet and has been “transitioning” out of the company.
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