BlackBerry CEO John Chen declares firm is not dwelling on the past and has financial strength for the long-haul

BlackBerry Executive Chair and CEO John Chen today publicly published a letter in which he emphasized the Canadian company is “not dwelling on the past” and furthermore has “significant financial strength for the long-haul.” He underlined three assets the struggling phone maker is leveraging to plow ahead: BBM, the BlackBerry network, and QNX.

Chen was named executive chairman and interim CEO of Blackberry last week, when the company unexpectedly abandoned a plan to sell itself. So far, his promises are similar to that of previous BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins, who has stepped down after less than two years trying to revive the firm.

The full letter from John Chen (pictured above) is copied below:

To our BlackBerry Community,

As you know, this is a time of significant change at BlackBerry as we accelerate our efforts to transform our business.

I know there has been a lot said about BlackBerry, but let me remind you that at BlackBerry, we are not dwelling on the past. We are looking towards the future.

We Are Committed to Reclaiming our Success
We have begun moving the company to embrace a multi-platform, BYOD world by adopting a new mobility management platform and a new device strategy. We are also leveraging our tremendous assets, including BBM, our network and QNX. While we are proud of these accomplishments, we know there is more work to be done.

I know that it’s going to take time, discipline and tough decisions to reclaim BlackBerry’s success and we are ready for that challenge.

Our Commitment to our Customers Remains Unchanged
We remain committed to delivering high quality products and services to the millions of people who rely on us globally. We also want our customers to know that BlackBerry has significant financial strength for the long-haul.

I believe in the value of this brand. With the right team and right strategy in place, I am confident that we will rebuild BlackBerry for the benefit of all of our constituencies.

We are Excited for the Future and you Should Be Too
Thank you for your strong support and continued commitment.

Sincerely,
John S. Chen
Executive Chair and CEO

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This all sounds great, but unfortunately we’ve heard it too many times before. Until Chen, or whoever succeeds him, can bring in results, BlackBerry’s image will continue to deflate, along with its smartphone business.

Top Image Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images