Mr. Chen was appointed Interim Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chair of BlackBerry’s Board of Directors on November 4, 2013. He is a distinguished and proven leader in the technology industry. Prior to joining BlackBerry, he served as Chairman and CEO of Sybase Inc., where he led the company’s transformation from a mature, slower-growth technology firm into a $1.5 billion high-growth innovator. Under his leadership, Sybase became the leading provider of enterprise mobility and mobile commerce solutions, achieving 55 consecutive quarters of profitability.
Mr. Chen previously held executive roles at Siemens AG, Pyramid Technology Corp., and Burroughs Corp., and began his career as a design engineer at Unisys Corp. In recognition of his efforts to strengthen U.S.-Asia relations, he has received awards from the US-Asia Institute, the U.S.-China Policy Foundation, and the California-Asia Business Council. For his corporate board work, he has been honored by the U.S.-Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation.
Mr. Chen graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology. He has received an honorary professorship from Shanghai University, as well as honorary doctorates from San Jose State University, City University of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
He serves on the boards of The Walt Disney Company and Wells Fargo & Co. Additionally, Mr. Chen is active in the nonprofit community, serving as a trustee of Caltech, a board member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a national trustee of The First Tee, and a Governor of the San Francisco Symphony.