Co-founder Mike Lazaridis might be out of RIM’s daily operations, but he’s not left RIM’s future behind.
The former co-CEO now holds the title of Vice President of the Board and just assumed the role of Chairman of the Innovations Committee, and he has invested another $50 million into the company’s future. At RIM’s stock price of $16.80 per share Friday, that computes to roughly three million more shares of the company he founded with Doug Fregin in 1984.
Lazaridis gave comment to his departure from the co-CEO position earlier this month, stating,
“Founder-based companies, if they are successful, they get to this point.”
He invested more of his funds in the company as a show of faith in its products, its new CEO and its future prospects.
Of the company itself, he stated:
“This is a strong organization with a strong global brand, an iconic product and a strong future. I love the company. I love these employees. They are my extended family.”
After 27 years with Research in Motion, one can understand the sentiment.
Lazaridis gave high praise for RIM’s new chief, Thornsten Heins, giving full endorsement in Heins’ ability to carry the company
“…to new heights.”
So far, Heins has been more accessible to BlackBerry-centric news and blog outlets and has seemed very comfortable in addressing and interacting with the press in general.
Heins has also developed actions that the prior co-CEOs were unable to make happen: Heins has ordered examination of competitors’ models and OS platforms – not to expand OS partnerships; Heins firmly closed the door on that option but to understand the competition.
“I have to do this. You need to know where you are,”
…he stated.
Heins is steering the company to more fully understand what users want in a smartphone, something not understood by prior leadership, and examining the competition is one way to accomplish that.
Heins declined the other-OS option, stating there is no real difference under the case in those devices; one Android device is essentially just like another Android device.
