Struggling handset manufacturer RIM has appointed two senior executives with the hiring of Kristian Tear as chief operating officer and Frank Boulben (pictured) as chief marketing officer.

The latter appointment will be of particular interest in the mobile industry as RIM chief executive Thorstein Heins has highlighted the need for a new marketing chief since he took charge of the handset vendor earlier this year. The last executive to hold the position was Keith Pardy who left the company more than a year ago. 

Boulben’s global marketing responsibility will include trying to build interest in the forthcoming BlackBerry 10 platform. New chief operating officer Kristian Tear’s brief will be to supervise all operations for handsets and services including R&D, products, global sales, manufacturing and the supply chain, said the company. 

Both hires are veterans of the mobile industry. Tear was previously executive VP of Sony Mobile Communications and has held a variety of positions with Ericsson. Boulben was formerly a senior executive with LightSquared and previously held positions with Vodafone and Orange. 

Earlier this year RIM’s chief operating officer Jim Rowan stepped down, as well as its chief technology officer David Yach.