Research in Motion’s Chief Marketing Officer, Keith Pardy, has decided to resign. He will leave the company within the next six months. The timing is not great for RIM as they are about to launch their tablet, the PlayBook. The company said Pardy will help with the transition over the next six months.

Pardy said in a statement that he is leaving for "personal reasons." There's wide spread speculation that Pardy can see the writing on the wall as competitors like Apple and Google have more brand cachet.

"The brand's been losing resonance over the past few years. It does not have the brand cachet ... to engage consumers the way an iPhone does," Brand Keys president Robert Passikoff said.

Let's hope RIM can hang on an launch a tablet that really rocks.