While BlackBerry continues to be in trouble in the rest of the world, Research In Motion’s (RIM) newly appointed Managing Director (MD) for South and Southern Africa has faith that the smartphone brand will continue to maintain loyalty and growth locally.

BlackBerry manufacturer RIM has just named Alexandra Zagury as MD of the region. From her base in Johannesburg, Zagury will oversee all the company’s operations, sales and marketing efforts in the region.

“I am excited to be taking on the role of MD for the Southern African region, one of RIM’s most important growth markets,” says Zagury. “We are proud of the company’s success in this region, particularly in South Africa where BlackBerry is the leading smartphone brand, and I believe there is still tremendous opportunity for growth. Our goal is to maintain customer loyalty and expand RIM’s leading position in South Africa by being even more customer-focused and by working closely with our carrier and developer partners across the region.”

According to a statement released by the company, Zagury’s career has spanned across property, leisure, financial services and media industries in the US, Tunisia, Argentina, Korea and Poland. She has been with RIM for more than four years and was the company’s first MD to be appointed in Turkey. Before joining RIM in early 2008, she headed the UK and Pan-Europ Business Operations and Intelligence teams for Yahoo! Europe.

“Alexandra brings a wealth of commercial, strategic and leadership experience to this role, and she will be instrumental in driving the next stage of our business growth in Southern Africa.”

Data released by GfK Retail and Technology shows that BlackBerry continues to be a bestseller in the South African market. In May 2012, the brand’s smartphones accounted for 7 out of the 10 best-selling smartphones in South Africa, and has been the leading smartphone vendor locally for over 20 months.

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