At 15.30 the Blackberry rise/Fall event with  Jacquie McNish will start.

Blackberry: The Rise & Fall, and The Upswing Of The Smartphone

Remember Blackberry? Back in 2010, Blackberry was the best selling smartphone in The Netherlands and up until 2012 it was a rapid growing company with 20.000 employees and $20 billion in revenue.

With only 6000 current employees left, and with revenues falling to $3 billion, the company is struggling to survive. The Blackberry story, the rise of the smartphone and the rapid innovations in the technology sector, is the main topic in the book ‘Losing the Signal’. Jacquie McNish, co-writer of ‘Losing the Signal’ will be the guest speaker during ‘Blackberry: The Rise & Fall and The Upswing Of The Smartphone’ on Tuesday, August 25th in Amstelveen.

Signed copy of Losing the Signal
Not only will you gain knowledge and riveting stories about Blackberry, smartphones and the rapid rise and fall of tech companies, but the first 100 attendees will receive a signed copy of ‘Losing the Signal’, made available by Interchange. The book has been recently added to the Business Book Award longlist of the Financial Times and McKinsey. Therefore being in the run to be named Business Book of the Year.

Jacquie McNish
Jacquie McNish is a Senior Writer with the Globe and Mail. She is also an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School where she co-teaches a third year law seminar on shareholder rights and the media. She has worked in Canada and the United States for The Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail. She is the winner of seven National Newspaper Awards and the author of three best selling books: The Big Score: Robert Friedland and the Voisey’s Bay Hustle; Wrong Way: The Fall of Conrad Black, the 2004 National Business Book Award winner co-authored with Sinclair Stewart; and The Third Rail, 2013 National Business Book winner, co-authored with Jim Leech. She is also the co-author of ‘Losing the Signal; the Remarkable Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry’.

Meüs van der Poel
Former CDA campaign leader (2003) Meüs van der Poel is an expert in the newest tech developments in communication and public affairs. During the seminar, he will discuss how Blackberry transformed the Dutch political scene in 2003 and how this changed his role as a campaign leader. These transformations lead to a big win for the CDA. Besides the remarkable rise and the spectacular fall of Blackberry, other topics will be discussed such as the rise of smartphones and what tech companies need to look out for to stay relevant in a fast evolving sector.

Interested in attending? Admission to this seminar is free, and is made possible by KPMG. At the end of the seminar, there will be plenty of opportunity to network over drinks.

Program:
15.00   Gathering
15.00   Introduction Henk Smit KPMG

15.30   Vincent Everts, Crackberry Master : Opening and introduction
introduction Leo Bijzet, Interchange, sponser Geen Signaal/Losing the signal
15.45   Meüs van der Poel, former CDA campaign leader: How Blackberry the basis was of the governing periods of Balkenende II t/m IV
16.00   Jacquie McNish, writer of Losing the Signal, the rise and fall of Blackberry
17.00   Q&A and discussion
17.30   Networking with drinks