Research In Motion appoints Ray Gillenwater as Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand

Research In Motion (RIM) has appointed Ray Gillenwater as Managing Director of its Australia and New Zealand operations. Gillenwater will oversee all functions of RIM’s business in Australia and New Zealand, including operations, sales, marketing, retail, distribution and partner relations.

Gillenwater has been with RIM for almost five years, holding various positions at RIM in North America and in South-East Asia.

Most recently, he served as Country Director of RIM’s operations in The Philippines. He has also held sales positions for RIM in North America as well as Verizon Wireless.

“There is a fantastic opportunity for BlackBerry in Australia and New Zealand’s thriving smartphone market. I look forward to working with our partners and talented internal teams to focus on our business strategy with an immediate emphasis on preparing for the highly anticipated BlackBerry 10 launch,” Gillenwater said.

Urpo Karjalainen, Senior Vice President for RIM Asia-Pacific, said Gillenwater has a “proven track record, having played an active role in the development and growth of some of RIM’s strongest markets in South-East Asia. His leadership will be instrumental in driving the next stage of our business growth in Australia and New Zealand.”