BlackBerry creator to fill Zander’s vacancy at CTIA show

CTIA announced that Research In Motion Ltd.’s Mike Lazaridis will replace Motorola’s Ed Zander as one of the kickoff keynoters at the association’s trade show next week. Lazaridis, RIM’s president and co-CEO, will join executives from AT&T Inc. and Microsoft Corp. during the keynote event on show’s opening day Tuesday.
“Mike Lazaridis is a welcome addition to a stellar keynote lineup this year,” said Robert Mesirow, vice president of operations and show director for the CTIA Wireless 2007 event. “BlackBerry smartphones are a common sight in the world today as a result of Mike’s longstanding vision.”
According to CTIA, Lazaridis “is expected to address the fast-paced world of mobile convergence and the opportunities and challenges ahead.”
Zander abruptly canceled his scheduled CTIA keynote appearance shortly before Motorola announced it expected a loss for the first quarter. In conjunction with the news, Motorola announced an executive and strategic overhaul as a response to the situation.