BlackBerry (BBRY) hired a new executive that will report to CEO John Chen. Coincidentally, the new executive previously teamed with Chen when both worked at Sybase.

According to BlackBerry, Eric Johnson will serve as president of global sales for the Canadian company.

"I have worked with Eric extensively and have tremendous respect for his sales expertise and customer centric approach to business," said Chen in a statement. "Our carriers, partners, distributors and enterprise customers will benefit greatly from Eric's approach."

John previously served as Senior Vice President and General Manager for SAP's Global Database and Technology. At Sybase, Johnson served various roles including Senior Vice President and General Manager for North America, Senior Vice President and General Manager Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Senior Vice President and General Manager for Financial Services.

"The experience that the majority of the new leadership team has in working together previously will drive change within the organization at a faster pace," said Chen. "I look forward to demonstrating these changes to the market."

The appointment comes after the "interim" term was dropped from Chen's CEO title. Chen was originally named as BlackBerry's interim CEO in November following Thorsten Heins' departure from the company.

As Latino Post reported, "After earnings, and again in meetings with media and analysts at [the International Consumer Electronics Show], John said that he would be BlackBerry's C.E.O. until the company is back on solid financial footing," said BlackBerry spokesperson Adam Emery, adding, "The search for a CEO has been put on the back burner for now."

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