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Mike Lazaridis
Mike Lazaridis, OC, FRS (born March 14, 1961[not verified in body]) is a Canadian businessman who co-founded Research In Motion (now BlackBerry Limited), the company that created and manufactured the BlackBerry wireless handheld device. He has gone on to become a major supporter of Canadian academic physics and an investor in quantum computing technologies.
While still a student at the University of Waterloo (UW), Lazaridis responded to a 1984 call for proposals from General Motors, and after winning a GM contract, he left university, and with those and other funds, he, Mike Barnstijn, and Douglas Fregin launched Research in Motion (RIM). RIM first developed an award-winning barcode technology for use in the film industry; using those profits it researched wireless data transmission,[not verified in body] leading to introduction of BlackBerry 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 joined Fregin in co-founding Quantum Valley Investments in March 2013, to "provide financial and intellectual capital for the further development and commercialization of breakthroughs in Quantum Information Science".
Among many other charitable contributions of Lazaridis and his wife, Ophelia, Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin also facilitated a private fund of CA$100M in 1999 to establish the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (he, thereafter, formed its Board and recruited its first Director), and his providing vision and funding to found the UW's Institute for Quantum Computing, including funding the advanced science building that hosts the institute.
Lazaridis has repeatedly been recognized for technical and societal contribution, including via an Emmy and an Oscar for the high-speed barcode reader used in film editing (1994 and 1999, respectively),[better source needed] honorary doctoral degrees from Waterloo and McMaster University (2000 and 2005, respectively), a 2002 Ernest C. Manning Awards Foundation Innovation Award (with RIM's Gary Mousseau), investiture as an Officer of the Order of Canada (OC, 2006), and, in acknowledgment of his roles in founding RIM, the Perimeter, and the IQC, his 2014 election as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).
Mike Lazaridis was born on March 14, 1961, in Istanbul, Turkey, to Pontic Greek parents, Nick and Dorothy Lazaridis,[citation needed] Mike Lazaridis' lineage derives from the Greek island of Chios.[citation needed] In 1966, when he was five years old, his family moved to Canada, settling in Windsor, Ontario. At age 12, he won a prize at the Windsor Public Library for reading every science book in the library.
In 1979, Lazaridis enrolled at the University of Waterloo in electrical 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]
In 1984, Lazaridis, while still a student, responded to a general call for proposals from General Motors (GM) to develop a "network computer control display system".[clarification needed][independent source needed] GM awarded him a contract in response to his proposal. He dropped out of university, and with the GM contract, plus a small government grant and a loan from Lazaridis's parents, Mike Barnstijn, Douglas Fregin and he launched Research in Motion (RIM), the company whose assets are now managed as BlackBerry Limited.
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Mike Lazaridis
Mike Lazaridis, OC, FRS (born March 14, 1961[not verified in body]) is a Canadian businessman who co-founded Research In Motion (now BlackBerry Limited), the company that created and manufactured the BlackBerry wireless handheld device. He has gone on to become a major supporter of Canadian academic physics and an investor in quantum computing technologies.
While still a student at the University of Waterloo (UW), Lazaridis responded to a 1984 call for proposals from General Motors, and after winning a GM contract, he left university, and with those and other funds, he, Mike Barnstijn, and Douglas Fregin launched Research in Motion (RIM). RIM first developed an award-winning barcode technology for use in the film industry; using those profits it researched wireless data transmission,[not verified in body] leading to introduction of BlackBerry 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 joined Fregin in co-founding Quantum Valley Investments in March 2013, to "provide financial and intellectual capital for the further development and commercialization of breakthroughs in Quantum Information Science".
Among many other charitable contributions of Lazaridis and his wife, Ophelia, Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin also facilitated a private fund of CA$100M in 1999 to establish the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (he, thereafter, formed its Board and recruited its first Director), and his providing vision and funding to found the UW's Institute for Quantum Computing, including funding the advanced science building that hosts the institute.
Lazaridis has repeatedly been recognized for technical and societal contribution, including via an Emmy and an Oscar for the high-speed barcode reader used in film editing (1994 and 1999, respectively),[better source needed] honorary doctoral degrees from Waterloo and McMaster University (2000 and 2005, respectively), a 2002 Ernest C. Manning Awards Foundation Innovation Award (with RIM's Gary Mousseau), investiture as an Officer of the Order of Canada (OC, 2006), and, in acknowledgment of his roles in founding RIM, the Perimeter, and the IQC, his 2014 election as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).
Mike Lazaridis was born on March 14, 1961, in Istanbul, Turkey, to Pontic Greek parents, Nick and Dorothy Lazaridis,[citation needed] Mike Lazaridis' lineage derives from the Greek island of Chios.[citation needed] In 1966, when he was five years old, his family moved to Canada, settling in Windsor, Ontario. At age 12, he won a prize at the Windsor Public Library for reading every science book in the library.
In 1979, Lazaridis enrolled at the University of Waterloo in electrical 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]
In 1984, Lazaridis, while still a student, responded to a general call for proposals from General Motors (GM) to develop a "network computer control display system".[clarification needed][independent source needed] GM awarded him a contract in response to his proposal. He dropped out of university, and with the GM contract, plus a small government grant and a loan from Lazaridis's parents, Mike Barnstijn, Douglas Fregin and he launched Research in Motion (RIM), the company whose assets are now managed as BlackBerry Limited.
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