Lazaridis

Jim Balsillie, the former co-CEO of BlackBerry, has sold off his entire stake in the company, according to a regulatory filing.

A year ago, Balsillie was one of the largest individual shareholders in BlackBerry (formerly known as Research In Motion) with 26.8 million shares in the company. But in a document filed today, BlackBerry disclosed that Balsillie no longer holds any shares in the company.

Balsillie and fellow former co-CEO Mike Lazaridis stepped down last March amid shareholder criticism over the way the company was being run and a stunning drop in its share price. Current CEO Thorsten Heins … Read more

Research In Motion's former co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis might have run into some trouble in their waning days at the company, but that didn't stop the mobile firm from giving them some serious entitlements to make their departure a bit easier to handle.

RIM yesterday filed a form 6K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), outlining how it compensated its former co-CEOs upon their ouster. According to that filing, Balsillie received $7.93 million in "entitlements" made up of about $4.8 million in cash, health and welfare plans for himself and his … Read more

Former Research in Motion co-CEO Mike Lazaridis still believes a comeback is in the works for BlackBerry and is willing to put his money where his mouth is.

Lazaridis, who alongside fellow co-CEO Jim Balsillie stepped down from RIM a week ago, said in an interview posted Friday by The Record that he is confident in new CEO Thorsten Heins. In fact, Lazaridis is confident enough that he said he plans to buy $50 million worth of additional stock.

"I absolutely know he will take this company to new heights," Lazaridis said in the interview.

Lazaridis and Balsillie … Read more

It wasn't just consumers and Wall Street that had a problem with Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie; it turns out they weren't so popular with Research in Motion employees either.

That's according to a survey of more than 120 reviews from RIM employees taken by Glassdoor, a career-focused site that provides a glimpse at jobs and companies.

According to Glassdoor, Balsillie and Lazaridis received from their employees a 48 percent approval rating, and a 52 percent disapproval rating. On average, a CEO gets an approval rating of 62 percent, the site said.

RIM said late yesterday that … Read more

Investors are certainly a fickle bunch.

They've spent the last few months trying to dislodge co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie from their leadership roles at Research in Motion. So now that the CEOs have stepped down, what does the stock do? Drop another 2.7 percent to $16.53 in pre-market trading.

The collective shrug by Wall Street to RIM's management shakeup illustrates the underlying problems still facing the company. Despite a new CEO, the company faces the same old problems: overwhelming competition, next-generation phones that are coming far too late, and a brand that has lost … Read more

Research In Motion may be gearing up for an overhaul in its leadership.

Co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie are preparing to relinquish their titles as co-chairmen, possibly giving way to independent director Barbara Stymiest, according to a report by the Financial Post. Stymiest is the leading candidate to replace the two, the Post said, citing anonymous sources.

RIM said in a statement that a committee of independent directors was reviewing the company's governance structure, and would report its findings by January 31. It added the committee is on track to meet this target, and that the board would … Read more

If you think Research In Motion's co-CEOs are hurting for money after taking dramatic pay cuts, think again.

RIM chiefs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis said yesterday that they had asked to change their salary to $1 per year. The salary cut was a clear acknowledgement of the issues facing the company, and an act of contrition amid growing criticism about their ability to run the BlackBerry business.

It's a welcome gesture from two executives who have previously been criticized as in denial about RIM's prospects. But the act isn't as magnanimous as it initially appears, … Read more

It's another tough morning for Research In Motion, with shares falling more than 11 percent after the company warned things weren't getting any better soon.

Yesterday, RIM posted significant declines in revenue and profit in the fiscal third quarter, and provided a lackluster forecast for the following period. More importantly, executives admitted that their next-generation phone, running on the BlackBerry 10 platform, wouldn't come out until late next year--a blow to those who had pinned their hopes on RIM mounting a comeback in the next few months.

After an evening of processing the news, analysts came … Read more

Research in Motion's two CEOs have to go.

The company has lost investor--and increasingly customer--confidence over the last year. Its latest, greatest savior OS is behind schedule. The PlayBook is a disaster. And RIM could be circling the porcelain rim if it isn't careful.

Nevertheless, RIM carries on with its current management. Co-CEOs James Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are taking $1 in salary a year. This token gesture inspires instant cynicism. The two may only be worth $1 a year at this point. You get what you pay for.

RIM's earnings conference call yesterday after a disappointing … Read more