Mike Kirkup, Director of Developer Relations, Resigns From RIM

Mike Kirkup, Director of Developer Relations, has resigned from RIM. According to his personal blog, he’ll be taking some time to step back and consider his next steps. It should be interesting to see where he goes next. We have seen a few senior employees at RIM leave to start their own businesses, and if Kirkup did the same it would be pretty awesome. More after the jump, including our nomination to replace Kirkup.

Here is Mike’s resignation letter on his personal blog:

After an incredible journey with RIM, I have resigned as Senior Director, Global Developer Relations today.

As the mobile space continues to change so quickly and this seems like a great time to step back and consider my next steps. If you wonder what I mean about the changing mobile landscape, just look at what has happened in the last two weeks – Motorola was acquired by Google, HP shut down webOS and Steve Jobs resigned as CEO from Apple.

Over my 10 year career I have worked with so many amazing individuals both inside RIM and in our broader developer community. This is a great company with leaders I respect and admire. It has been an honour to share in the success and growth of such an extraordinary company.

The opportunity to work in Developer Relations has been one that I will never forget. To be exposed to so many great ideas and the people behind them has been inspiring. To manage the variety of challenges each and every day has been something which helped me grow personally.

I will be sharing my thoughts on the industry on this blog and on Twitter (@mikekirkup) and look forward to hearing from you.

One of our favorite BlackBerry app companies, Smarter Apps, was started by former RIM employees and it’s not impossible Mike might start his own as well. Then again, he may be more into larger companies. Only time will tell.

With WebOS cancelled, perhaps RIM should hire Richard Kerris to replace Kirkup. His LinkedIn says he’s Vice President, Worldwide Developer Relations – webOS at HP, and used to be a Director of the Applications Division at Apple. A hire like Kerris would probably give investors more confidence.