More action needed to keep tech workers in Canada: Chen

Attracting tech talent to Waterloo Region has long been a priority of local officials – but something else may be getting lost in the shuffle as a result, BlackBerry CEO John Chen said Tuesday.

“I know there’s a lot of … Canadian talents that have gone over to the United States,” Chen said.

“I think it’s the environment. We need to build an environment that will keep the people here.”

Speaking at an event organized by the Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, Chen called the success of the local tech sector “bittersweet”, in that it provides a vibrant environment that attracts other tech companies and in turn attracts tech workers, but also in that many of the workers making names for themselves outside BlackBerry once worked for Chen’s company.

The bulk of the event saw Chen speaking about BlackBerry, which he took over in late 2013.

At that time, the company had just come off a loss nearly US$1 billion in one quarter, caused primarily by the poor performance of the BlackBerry Z10 touchscreen phone.

It was hoped that Chen’s experience bringing data management firm Sybase back to profitability would lead to similar results for the Waterloo-based smartphone manufacturer.

In fact, he told the assembled crowd Tuesday, there was little connection between the two jobs.

“I don’t think there’s a lot about Sybase … that applies to BlackBerry, or anybody else for that matter,” he said.

“Each turnaround is a different set of issues. “

At BlackBerry, Chen said, one of the biggest issues was internal morale – and what he saw as a company that didn’t realize where it had gone wrong.

“It’s not because of lack of technology, not because of lack of trying, not because of lack of commitment. It’s because of the fact that we’re working on something that customers say (they) don’t want,” he said.

Since then, BlackBerry has been able to reverse its financial position – even increasing its cash balance in the past two quarters.

It remains difficult to sell the BlackBerry brand given the hit its reputation has taken, Chen said.

However, the CEO said he sees brighter days ahead for the company – particularly in the world of security, where he said BlackBerry’s goal is to find every way people are communicating and then find ways to make them more secure.

“We’re going to assemble … the most secure communication channel ever,” he said.

“The sooner that message gets out … the sooner we will return to growth.”