BlackBerry continues to tighten its purse strings, and even top executives and global recording stars aren’t safe – and if you’re both, you’re screwed. Alicia Keys will depart her role as “global creative director” for the smartphone, software and services provider as of January 30th, CTV News reports.
New CEO (who has dropped the “interim” from his title) John Chen has been cleaning house at BlackBerry since taking the reins, likely getting rid of executives who were too aligned with the vision of Thorsten Heins and his predecessors. Keys was a noteworthy Heins hire, and as such was probably too close to the throne to escape with her job intact.
It might also just be that Chen and the company’s new management realize that a thinly veiled PR arrangement with a celebrity whose fame arguably peaked a while ago isn’t the best use of company resources. Keys has obviously been little more than a highly paid spokesperson for the company, despite the seemingly meaty title, and coming off a quarter where it posted a $4.4 billion loss, even perceived waste isn’t something they want kicking around.
BlackBerry’s share price is up 2.91 percent in trading today, as of the time of this writing. She’s just a girl and she’s on fire.
Author’s note: In case you couldn’t tell, the post above was mostly meant in jest. Alicia Keys signed a one-year deal, and it’s obviously something that neither party really saw a need in continuing.