Mike Lazaridis is president and co-CEO of RIM. He is responsible for product strategy, research and development, product development, and manufacturing. Lazaridis founded RIM as a student at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Since founding RIM, he has earned more than 30 patents for innovations in wireless technology and software. For example, he invented the BlackBerry, Inter@ctive pagers for the Mobitex and DataTAC networks, and RIM PCMCIA Type II wireless modems for Mobitex data networks. He also came up with embedded radio modems for Mobitex and GSM/GPRS networks, RIM Wireless Handhelds, and DigiSync, a film key code reader used in motion-picture labs and media post-production facilities.
Besides being a world class innovator and engineer, he's a passionate advocate for education and scientific research. His philanthropy established the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, a world center of excellence based in Waterloo and affiliated with more than 30 Canadian universities. Lazaridis is fond of saying in his frequent speaking engagements that his career has been built on the discoveries of physicists a century ago. The discoveries of the scientists at Perimeter Institute will ensure Canada a place in the twenty-first century.