RIM’s head of global sales quits (and it could be Jim Balsillie’s fault)

Thanks to its precipitous downward spiral and uncomfortable office politics, Research in Motion is rumoured to have some pretty sucky employee morale—and now even the executives are fleeing. Patrick Spence, RIM’s London-based head of global sales strategy and a rising star, left the company this week after 14 years, reportedly for wireless home audio company Sonos. The scuttlebutt is that Spence’s close relationship with ex-co-CEO Jim Balsillie left him without many allies at the company, and that Spence was disappointed when he didn’t get the vacant COO job this spring. Ironically, when the new COO Kristian Tear starts this summer, he’ll take over Spence’s current responsibilities. In the meantime, CEO Thorsten Heins will cover—like he doesn’t have enough to do already. [Reuters]