After apparently "resigning" as president and CEO of Bell Mobility in February, Michael Neumann was recently hired as EchoStar Communications' top executive. If truth be told, Neumann was likely pushed out of Bell Mobility as the fall guy for problems associated with the flawed implementation of an expensive new billing system. It also didn't help that Bell relinquished its status as the leading wireless service provider to Rogers after Rogers acquired Microcell Telecommunications. Neumann is a solid hire EchoStar given his experience as CEO of Bell ExpressVu, Canada's largest satellite-television provider, and a solid entrepreneurial streak that saw him head up a start-up in England. Neumann's departure from Bell Mobility should be viewed in the context of numerous management changes within the BCE empire over the past 18 months.

There is a crazy rumor, which I'm happy to propogate, that RIM co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are interested in buying a National Hockey League team. On one hand, it makes absolutely no sense because niether one of them can be described as vanity-driven. Lazaridis has donated $100-million to create the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, while Balsillie - an enthusiastic recreational hockey player - still lives in the same house he had before RIM hit it big. If one were to explore the other side of the argument, buying an NHL team makes probably makes more sense as an investment now that a new collective bargaining agreement is close to be completed. With an owner-friendly salary cap, there is a much better potential for NHL teams to make a profit. At the same time, there are owners looking get out. The Laurie family, who are heirs of Sam Walton, want to bail out of the St. Louis Blues after losing US$60 million over the past two years. Balsillie and Lazardis are both extremely rich so maybe spending a few million on a NHL team isn't a bad way to allocate some financial resources. You wonder if they would call the team "The Blackberrys"?
For some excellent insight into RIM's legal battles with NTP Inc., check out this post by Dennis Crouch (hat tip to Rob Hyndman for putting into the spotlight.)