Alicia Keys Is The New Global Creative Director At Blackberry

[NelsonG]

By Maurice Bobb

It was expected that Alicia Keys would take on husband Swizz Beatz' last name when they tied the knot, but who knew she’d pick up his business acumen, too? In a bold move to “inspire the future” of the company, Blackberry, formerly known as Research in Motion (RIM), has named the “Girl On Fire” chanteuse as its Global Creative Director.

In conjunction with its announcement, the Canadian smartphone maker launched a new operating system and two new devices in hopes to re-attract former users like Keys, who jumped ship to sexier phones from Apple and Android.

According to a statement on her website aliciakeys.com, the singer-songwriter and former self-proclaimed "iPhone junky" will work closely with app developers, content creators, retailers, carriers and the entertainment community to further shape and enhance the BlackBerry 10 platform, and inspire creative use through its remarkable capabilities and functionality.

“Alicia Keys has come to BlackBerry because she believes in the product and technology, and subscribes to our overriding philosophy to “Keep Moving”: to empower people through mobile computing and communications,” said BlackBerry President and CEO Thorsten Heins. “We are excited she will be bringing to us her enormous capabilities, as well as a vast network of relationships in the entertainment, social media and business communities, to help shape our brand and grow our business.”

Keys took to Twitter to relay her excitement in working with the brand that many industry insiders believe is fighting for its last shot at winning over buyers. “Excited2jump right in2my new role as Global Creative Director of@Blackberry! #BlackBerry10 #keepmoving #forwardthinking.”

[url=http://rapfix.mtv.com/2013/01/30/alicia-keys-new-global-creative-director-blackberry/]View the full article[/url]