RIM in Motion, Again

Dropping co-founders and appointing a new CEO might look like moves in the right direction, but there are miles to go before the company can relax

An era has come to an end at RIM with the stepping down of its 2 co-founders and cochief executives, Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, who have been at the helm of affairs at the Canadian firm for the last 20 years. The move, an outcome of a board and management shuffle, was taken in anticipation of the beginning of another era of turning around the firm with the appointment of Thorsten Heins as its new CEO.

RIM announced that Lazaridis, who in 1984, co-founded the company using a loan from his parents, and Balsillie, who joined him in 1992, had stepped down as executives and had relinquished their roles as co-chairmen. The company also said that current board member, Barbara Stymiest, will become the independent board chairman. Lazaridis will stay on as the board’s vice chairman, and Balsillie will stay on as a board member.

RIM also appointed a new board member, Prem Watsa, CEO of Fairfax Financial Holdings, a Canadian investment firm and a big RIM shareholder. Fairfax has recently bought a significant stake in RIM as the firm believes in the long-term value of the company.

This unprecedented management reshuffle, and that too of this scale, is seen as a significantly more aggressive step than many critics had expected from RIM to try to assuage angry shareholders.

The Triggers

Industry watchers believe, though late, this could be the first step in the direction of company’s next phase of growth. The company has been under tremendous attack from analysts and investors alike