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Mike Lazaridis | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lazaridis in 2014 | |
| Born | Mihal Lazaridis[citation needed] (1961-03-14)March 14, 1961 (age 64)[citation needed] Istanbul, Turkey[citation needed] |
| Education | University of Waterloo (dropped out)[citation needed] |
| Occupations | Founder & Managing Partner, Quantum Valley InvestmentsFounder,Research in Motion |
| Awards | |
| 8thChancellor of theUniversity of Waterloo | |
| In office 2003–2009 | |
| Preceded by | Val O'Donovan |
| Succeeded by | Prem Watsa |
Mike Lazaridis,OC,[2]FRS (born March 14, 1961[not verified in body]) is a Canadian businessman that co-foundedResearch In Motion (now BlackBerry Limited), the company that created and manufactured theBlackBerry wireless handheld device. He has gone on to become a major supporter of Canadian academic physics, and an investor inquantum computing technologies.
While yet a student at theUniversity of Waterloo (UW), Lazaridis responded to a 1984call for proposals fromGeneral Motors, and after winning a GM contract, he left university, and with those and other funds, he,Mike Barnstijn, andDouglas Fregin launched Research in Motion (RIM). RIM first developed an award-winningbarcode technology for use in the film industry; using those profits it researchedwireless data transmission,[not verified in body] leading to introduction ofBlackBerry wireless mobile devices (1999-2002).[not verified in body] Lazaridis would serve in various positions for RIM and BlackBerry, including co-CEO and co-chair of its board (1984-2012).[not verified in body]
After a period of charitable and leadership roles, founding science research organizations (see following), Lazaridis joinedFregin in co-foundingQuantum Valley Investments in March 2013, to "provide financial and intellectual capital for the further development and commercialization of breakthroughs inQuantum Information Science".[3][independent source needed]
Among the many charitable contributions of Lazaridis and his wife, Ophelia, have been CA$100M in 1999 to establish thePerimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (he, thereafter, forming its Board and recruiting its first Director),[4] and his providing vision and funding to found theUW'sInstitute for Quantum Computing, including funding the advanced science building that hosts the Institute.[5]
Lazaridis has repeatedly been recognized for technical and societal contribution, including via anEmmy and anOscar for the high-speed barcode reader used in film editing (1994 and 1999, respectively),[6][7][better source needed] honorary doctoral degrees fromWaterloo andMcMaster University (2000 and 2005, respectively),[8] a 2002 Ernest C. Manning Awards FoundationInnovation Award (with RIM'sGary Mousseau),[8] investiture as anOfficer of the Order of Canada (OC, 2006),[2][8] and, in acknowledgment of his roles in founding RIM, thePerimeter, and theIQC, his 2014 election as aFellow of the Royal Society (FRS).[9]
Born Mihal Lazaridis on March 14, 1961 inIstanbul, Turkey,[citation needed] toPontic Greek parents, Nick and Dorothy Lazaridis,[citation needed] Mike Lazaridis' lineage derives from the Greek island ofChios.[citation needed] In 1966, when he was five years old, his family moved toCanada, settling inWindsor, Ontario.[10] At age 12, he won a prize at theWindsor Public Library for reading every science book in the library.[11]
In 1979, Lazaridis enrolled at theUniversity of Waterloo inelectrical engineering, with "an option in"[clarification needed]computer science.[citation needed] In 1984, after successfully garnering funding for a commercial idea, he dropped out of university (two months before he was scheduled to graduate).[citation needed]
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In 1984, Lazaridis, then yet a student, responded to a generalcall for proposals fromGeneral Motors (GM) to develop a "network computer control display system".[clarification needed][12][independent source needed] GM awarded him a contract in response to his proposal.[citation needed] He dropped out of university, and with the GM contract, plus a small government grant and a loan from Lazaridis's parents, Mike Lazaridis,Mike Barnstijn, andDouglas Fregin launched Research in Motion (RIM),[citation needed] the company whose assets are now managed as BlackBerry Limited.[citation needed]
One of RIM's first achievements was the development ofbarcode technology for film.[clarification needed][citation needed] It reinvested the profits from that product intowireless data transmission research,[citation needed] eventually leading to the introduction of theBlackBerry wireless mobile device in 1999,[citation needed] and its better-known version in 2002.[citation needed] Lazaridis would serve in various positions for RIM and BlackBerry, including as co-chairman and co-CEO of BlackBerry from 1984 to 2012,[citation needed] and Board Vice Chair and Chair of the Innovation Committee from 2012 to 2013.[citation needed]
In 1999, Lazaridis parted with a third of his fortune (at the time), to provide CA$100M to establish an academic research enterprise focused on theoretical physics, thereafter named thePerimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, for which he formed a Board, and recruitedHoward Burton as its first Director.[4] He would also serve as Perimeter's board chair.[when?][citation needed] In 2002, he provided the vision and funds that led to founding of theInstitute for Quantum Computing at theUniversity of Waterloo (UW), under UW faculty member,Raymond Laflamme.[5] He has also served as achancellor of theUniversity of Waterloo.[citation needed] In June 2003, he name UW's eighthchancellor.[not verified in body]
Lazaridis co-founded Quantum Valley Investments in March 2013 with RIM co-founderDouglas Fregin, to "provide financial and intellectual capital for the further development and commercialization of breakthroughs inQuantum Information Science".[3][independent source needed]
In 1999, Lazaridis is reported to have donated a third of his fortune (at the time) to provide CA$100M to establish an academic research enterprise focused on theoretical physics, thereafter named thePerimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (a founding sum that would grow over the years).[4][13][verification needed][14][verification needed] Lazaridis and his wife Ophelia provided the vision and funding—a further$100M[clarification needed] over its lifetime—to found theInstitute for Quantum Computing at theUniversity of Waterloo, under its 2002 founding executive director,Raymond Laflamme.[5]
In 2015, Lazaridis donated$20M[clarification needed] toWilfrid Laurier University, for a new technology-focused management institute at the business school, which was renamed in his honour as the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics.[15][16][17]
Lazaridis and his wife Ophelia have also been noted for their philanthropic work in the Waterloo area;[citation needed] in 2018, they donated ten million dollars to theStratford Festival for the reconstruction of theTom Patterson Theatre.[citation needed]
Lazaridis received anEmmy Award in 1994 for the technical advance of his development of a high-speed barcode reader used in film editing.[6][dead link][better source needed] The same invention received was honoured by anAcademy Award in 1999, fortechnical achievement.[7][better source needed]
In 2000, Lazaridis received an honorary doctor of engineering degree from theUniversity of Waterloo (UW), and in 2005, a further honorary doctoral degree fromMcMaster University.[8][better source needed] In UW's 50th anniversary year in 2007, Lazaridis was among the fifty alumni recognized by the UW 50th Anniversary Alumni Awards.[18]
Lazaridis was listed onMaclean's Honour Roll as a distinguished Canadian in 2000,[8] and namedCanada's Nation Builder of the Year for 2002[8] (by readers ofThe Globe and Mail newspaper[citation needed]). In 2005 he was awarded the title of, and in 2006 invested as anOfficer of the Order of Canada,[2][8] and a member of theOrder of Ontario.[19][better source needed]
In 2014 he was elected aFellow of the Royal Society.[9] His nomination reads:
Father of what has become known as thesmartphone, Mike Lazaridis is recognized in the global wireless community as a visionary, innovator and engineer of extraordinary talent... [The] founder of RIM and the creator of the BlackBerry... [he] made the primary donations establishing thePerimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, the [Univeristy of Waterloo]Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) and...Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre... [Perimeter] has already become an international beacon fortheoretical physics and IQC is widely regarded as the leading centre ofquantum information science worldwide. Together, these institutes have... made a major impact internationally.[1]
In 2020, he purchased the 80 m (262 ft) yachtArtefact. The custom build by the shipyardNobiskrug won awards for its exterior design, and for using hybrid electric technologies.[20]
Lazaridis is portrayed byJay Baruchel in the 2023 filmBlackBerry.[21]
Mr. Mike Lazaridis / Waterloo, Ontario, Canada / Order of Canada / Officer of the Order of Canada / Awarded on: November 17, 2005 / Invested on: October 06, 2006 / A visionary and innovator, Mike Lazaridis is President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Research In Motion, a company he founded while a student at the University of Waterloo. Known as the creator of the BlackBerryT, he has pioneered a number of technological innovations that have enhanced mobile communications worldwide. A passionate advocate of higher education and research, he has been a generous benefactor to his alma mater, where he founded the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in 1997.
{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)[independent source needed] Note, it is unclear whether this refers to a sum in CA$, or US$.In 1999, RIM founder Mike Lazaridis gives $100 million–one third of his fortune–to establish an institute for theoretical physics. He hires Howard Burton as Perimeter's first Director and forms a Board of Directors, with research operations beginning in October 2001.
About the Institute... Officially launched in 2002, with Prof. Raymond Laflamme as executive director... / IQC was launched thanks to the vision of Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis, who have donated more than $100 million since 2002... /About the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre / IQC's permanent headquarters, the state-of-the-art... Centre, opened on September 21, 2012. The 285,000-square-foot facility is custom-built for quantum research...Note, date of information is indicated as the date of its archive.
In recognition of his technical innovations, the University of Waterloo awarded Lazaridis with an honorary Doctor of Engineering in 2000 and McMaster University awarded him with an honorary Doctorate in 2005. / ...Lazaridis' community achievements have been widely recognized. He was named an Officer to the Order of Canada in 2006 and was listed on the TIME 100 List of Most Influential People in 2005. Mr. Lazaridis is a member of Maclean's Honour Role of distinguished Canadians, is a recipient of the 2002 Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce Community Leader of the Year Award and has been previously recognized as Canada 's Nation Builder of the Year and Ontario's Entrepreneur of the Year.
p. 20.[full citation needed]
Books & Arts—First Principles: The Crazy Business of Doing Serious Science /Howard Burton / Key Porter Books: 2009. 288 pp. Can$24.95 9781554701759... ISBN: 978-1-5547-0175-9
[Tagline:] Canada's Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics was intended to become a world leader in the field. Eric Hand finds out if it has lived up to its ambitions.
To mark the University of Waterloo's 50th anniversary, University of Waterloo's Alumni Council established the University of Waterloo 50th Anniversary Alumni Awards... the council selected 50 alumni who exemplified extraordinary citizenship to University of Waterloo through activities like volunteering, mentoring, involvement with committees, boards or panels, philanthropic support or advocacy. ... / University of Waterloo 50th anniversary alumni award recipients ... / Mike Lazaridis / DENG '00.
Media related toMike Lazaridis at Wikimedia Commons
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| Preceded by Company Founded 1984 | BlackBerry Co-CEO (withJim Balsillie) 1984-2012 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Chancellor of theUniversity of Waterloo 2003–2009 | Succeeded by |
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