Mumbai: Every time Blackberry seems to be on the verge of gaining momentum in India, it loses its head. It happened in 2013 when the then Managing Director, Sunil Dutt, exited the company unceremoniously. And this time, it’s Sunil Lalvani.
BlackBerry’s India head Sunil Lalvani has put in his papers after a two-year stint with the Canadian handset maker. However, company hasn’t announced a replacement for Lalvani yet, but company vice-president (Carrier Sales and Distribution Asia Pacific) Matthew Tonkin will lead India operations for now.
“We can confirm Sunil Lalvani has left his position as Managing Director, BlackBerry India to explore opportunities outside of BlackBerry. We thank him for his contributions. In the interim, Matthew Tonkin, VP, Carrier Sales and Distribution, APAC, will lead operations in India. We will announce a permanent replacement soon,” the company said in an official statement.
Prior to heading the Indian subsidiary of BlackBerry, Lalvani was the head of BlackBerry’s enterprise business.
Lalvani’s exit from BlackBerry India would surely dent the company’s prospects in India, considering that its smartphone business is in dire straits. At a time when the company is looking to regain lost ground by focusing on software and services solutions, Lalvani’s exit sounds alarm bells for the ailing Canadian phone maker.Â
Recently, there were reports that companies like Microsoft and Xiaomi are looking to acquire BlackBerry.Â