BALSILLIE SAYS GOODBYE TO RIM
Company’s earnings per share come close to results expected by market analysts
Jim Balsillie, co-founder of Research in Motion, resigned from the Blackberry maker’s board of directors, ending a 20-year run with the company.
TORONTO – Jim Balsillie, cofounder of Research in Motion Ltd., has resigned from the Blackberry maker’s board of directors and two high-level executives are also leaving, the company said Thursday.
“As I complete my retirement from RIM, I’m grateful for this remarkable experience and for the opportunity to have worked with outstanding professionals who helped turn a Canadian idea into a global success,” Balsillie said in a statement as the Waterloo, Ont.-based company released its fourthquarter results Thursday afternoon.
In January, Mike Lazaridis and Balsillie were replaced as co-chief executives and chairmen of the board of the maker of the Blackberry device.
Former chief operating officer Thorsten Heins took over as chief executive and former Toronto Stock Exchange chief Barbara Stymiest became chairman of the board of directors.
Founder and Blackberry inventor Lazaridis became a vice-chairman while Balsillie stayed on only as a director with no operational control of the company.
“I agree this is the right time to pass the baton to new leadership, and I have complete confidence in Thorsten, the management team and the company,” Balsillie said at the time. “I remain a significant shareholder and a director and, of course, they will have my full support.”
The move to replace the two as co-ceos and chairmen of the board came after months of speculation that RIM’S board was looking at a significant shakeup.
A committee of seven independent directors of RIM’S board, including Stymiest, examined the company’s board structure, considering the merits of having an in-
dependent chair rather than a lead director and the “business necessity” for Lazaridis and Balsillie to hold significant board titles.
Heins joined RIM from Siemens Communications Group in December 2007 as senior vice-president for hardware engineering and became COO for product and sales in August.
“On behalf of the Board and everyone at RIM, I would like to thank Jim for his 20 years of service to RIM,” Stymiest said Thursday. “His energy, drive and enthusiasm helped build one of the most successful technology companies of our time.”
The company also announced David Yach’s departure Thursday. It said the chief technical officer is retiring after 13 years with the company.
Jim Rowan, chief operating officer, global operations, is also leaving, RIM said, having “decided to pursue other interests.”
The company is now on the hunt for a single COO, it said.
“RIM would like to thank David Yach and Jim Rowan for their years of service and many contributions,” Heins said.
The company reported earnings per share after the market closed Thursday that were in line with expectations of 81 cents U.S., although though the BlackBerry maker fell short of revenue expectations of $4.57 billion U.S., reporting just $4.19 billion U.S. in fourth-quarter revenue.
Quarterly smartphone shipments of 11.1 million also fell short of expectations of 11.2 million although Playbook tablet sales of more than 500,000 were well ahead of even the more bullish analyst expectations of about 350,000.