Alexandra Zagury has been appointed as the managing director for South Africa and Southern Africa by Blackberry-maker Research In Motion (RIM). She will be based in the company’s Johannesburg office and will be responsible for RIM’s operations, sales and marketing for the region.
Despite the company’s woes in other parts of the world, Blackberry smartphones are popular in South Africa and contribute to RIM’s strength in the region.
Robert Bose who is the Regional Managing Director for Africa and the Middle East at RIM said on Zagury’s appointment, “Alexandra brings a wealth of commercial, strategic and leadership experience to this role, and she will be instrumental in driving the next stage of our business growth in Southern Africa.”
Zagury has been with the Canadian smartphone maker for over four years and was its first managing director appointed in Turkey.
Before working for RIM in Turkey, she worked for the company in the UK. There she had to oversee the regional strategic planning and business operations for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
In April 2008 — before working for RIM — Zagury worked for Yahoo! Europe, where she headed the UK and Pan-Euro Business Operations and Intelligence teams.
Her earlier non-technology working experience include the property, leisure, financial services and media industries in the US, Tunisia, Argentina, Korea and Poland.
“I am excited to be taking on the role of Managing Director for the Southern African region, one of RIM’s most important growth markets. We are proud of the company’s success in this region, particularly in South Africa where BlackBerry is the leading smartphone brand, and I believe there is still tremendous opportunity for growth.
“Our goal is to maintain customer loyalty and expand RIM’s leading position in South Africa by being even more customer-focused and by working closely with our carrier and developer partners across the region,” Zagury commented on her appointment.
