BLACKBERRY-MAKER Research In Motion (RIM) has appointed Wes Nicol as regional managing director for Latin America.

Most recently he has been in the role of managing director for the Caribbean and Andean region, where BlackBerry is the market-leading smartphone.

"I'm very excited and honoured to lead the BlackBerry business in Latin America at a time when this is one of the fastest-growing regions for the company," said Nicol.

His predecessor, Rick Costanzo, said Nicol has been instrumental in the development of new BlackBerry markets in Latin America. Costanzo is now Executive Vice-President of Global Sales at RIM.

"He also built a strong executive team that was able to establish BlackBerry as the smartphone market share leader in the Andean and Caribbean regions, Costanzo said.

RIM plans to introduce the BlackBerry 10 devices.

We have a loyal and ambitious base of subscribers that expect us to continue providing them with the best mobile communications solution on the market, said Nicol.

Nicol helped to launch BlackBerry solutions Brazil, Chile and Argentina in 2005.

He also managed the relationship with Telefonica and other strategic carriers in Latin America, as well as Nextel International.

Nicol has been with RIM for 12 years, working in various roles across the Americas, Europe and Asia.