BlackBerry Technology Solutions ropes in Sandeep Chennakeshu, Ericsson veteran

BlackBerry announced that Ericsson veteran Sandeep Chennakeshu will lead BlackBerry Technology Solutions (BTS), its new business unit. Sandeep Chennakeshu, who has been engaged in research, product development, IP creation/licensing and general management in the wireless, electronics and semiconductor industry, earlier served as the president of Ericsson Mobile Platforms and CTO of Sony-Ericsson.

The BTS business unit comprises BlackBerry's technology assets, including: QNX (embedded software), Project Ion (Internet of Things application platform), Certicom (cryptography applications), and Paratek (RF antenna tuning), as well as BlackBerry's patent portfolio.

BlackBerry Chairman and CEO John Chen said QNX, Certicom and Paratek are strategic and technically innovative assets with significant potential to address the much wider global markets for communications and embedded applications. The company has global portfolio of 44,000 patents.