BlackBerry Getting Help From Alicia Keys

By Joseph Palenchar On Jan 30 2013 - 4:38pm

BlackBerry president/CEO Thorsten Heins and Alicia Keys announce their relationship.

New York — BlackBerry president/CEO Thorsten Heins not only introduced the first two BlackBerry 10 phones at today’s BlackBerry launch event, but he introduced Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Alicia Keys as the company’s first global creative director.

 Keys will use her “vast network of relationships in the entertainment, social media and business communities to help shape our brand and grow our business," said president/CEO Thorsten Heins.

  Keys will work closely with app developers, content creators, retailers, carriers and the entertainment community “to further shape and enhance the BlackBerry 10 platform and inspire creative use through its remarkable capabilities and functionality,” the company said in a statement.

 Chief marketing officer Frank Boulben said Keys’ goal is to “inspire and empower creative people around the world to push the boundaries of the mobile experience.” By engaging in a dialog with content creators, BlackBerry will “help them better succeed at what they do,” he said.