WATERLOO, Ont. -- A former senior member of the federal public service has been named a director of BlackBerry Ltd.

The smartphone company says Wayne G. Wouters will be one of the seven independent members of its board of directors. The eighth member is John Chen, the company's chief executive and chairman of its board.

Wouters held several senior positions within the federal public service, including as Secretary to the Cabinet and Clerk of the Privy Council from 2009 to 2014, when he retired last October.

He was named Clerk of the Privy Council -- who acts as deputy to the prime minister -- by Stephen Harper.

Prior to joining the federal civil service in 1982 in the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, Wouters held several positions in Saskatchewan's public service.