BlackBerry Ltd. has appointed a new leader to oversee its device business, as the smartphone maker continues to shake up the division's executive ranks in a bid to make the operation profitable.

Ralph Pini will succeed Ron Louks as the device division's chief operating officer and general manager, according to the company. The executive has headed BlackBerry's radio-frequency technology development operations for more than four years and will report to Chief Executive John Chen.

Mr. Louks left the Canadian company on Friday, a BlackBerry spokeswoman said, declining to elaborate. He joined BlackBerry in January 2014 from Pittsboro, N.C.-based software company OpenNMS Group Inc.

A key focus for Mr. Pini will be on broadening the appeal of BlackBerry devices powered by the company's BB10 operating system and Android through the development of device hardware, software and design that emphasize security and other advantages favored by enterprise customers, he said.

The leadership change comes a little over a month after BlackBerry's device sales for the quarter ended Feb. 29 fell short of expectations. It also follows the hiring of Alex Thurber two weeks ago to oversee BlackBerry's in-house sales teams for devices and its efforts to generate additional revenue from sales of these products through carriers and other partners.

Mr. Thurber, previously head of world-wide sales at WatchGuard Technologies Inc., a Seattle-based developer of security firewall technology, will report to Mr. Pini.

The executives' challenge to revive BlackBerry's shrinking device business is made more difficult by an overall slowing of the smartphone market. That trend was underscored by Apple Inc. last month after the industry giant reported its first-ever slide in iPhone sales.

BlackBerry is expanding its mobile handset business beyond traditional smartphones to include devices such as its new Radar tracking system for use by trucking companies to monitor their fleets and cargo in real time.

The company aims to anticipate new demands before they emerge, "such as securing all the endpoints in an Internet of Things world," where devices are used to connect a range of consumer and industrial products to wireless networks, Mr. Pini said in an email.

BlackBerry's main focus is on selling higher-margin mobile-device software and services to reignite growth, but Mr. Chen also wants to make the money-losing hardware business profitable to help buttress this strategy.

Mr. Pini joined BlackBerry in 2012 as part of its acquisition of New Hampshire-based Paratek Microwave Inc., where he was CEO. Before that, he said he held various senior roles at Motorola and was part of the team that developed Motorola's RAZR, once one of the world's most popular mobile phones.

Some analysts think BlackBerry should abandon its handset business due to its tiny share of the smartphone market and ongoing struggles to boost sales amid competition from Apple and Samsung Electronics Co. Such a move would eliminate an earnings drag and free up money to invest in software and services, which is growing.

BlackBerry launched the Priv, its first-ever Android-powered smartphone, in November. The phone incorporates the security features of BlackBerry's older phones alongside the greater number of social media and entertainment apps available through the Google play store to appeal to a broader audience.

Still, in the fourth quarter, BlackBerry recognized revenue on 600,000 smartphones, down from 700,000 in the third quarter.

BlackBerry has said it needs to focus more attention on selling the premium-priced Priv to enterprises to help boost sales. It also has plans to release two new, lower-priced Android phones in its current fiscal year to lure more price-sensitive customers. Additional sources of revenue could also come from efforts to license out all or part of its security-based Android operating system, the company has said.

Write to Ben Dummett at ben.dummett@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 09, 2016 10:35 ET (14:35 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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