Balsillie and Lazaridis step down at RIM
Posted Jan 22, 2012 8:47 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Some turnover at the top for Canada’s Research In Motion, as the BlackBerry maker is replacing co-CEO’s Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis.
In a statement, RIM says COO Thorsten Heins will take over for the pair effective immediately.
The 54-year-old German-born Heins joined the company in 2007, coming over from Siemens.
He was appointed COO of product and sales last August.
Director Barbara Stymiest will take over as chair of the board, Lazaridis has been named vice-chair of the board and chair of the new innovation committee, while Balsillie will stay on as a board member.
This all comes after a dreadful year for RIM.
In 2011, shares tumbled 75% as sales slumped, the company lost market share to Apple and makers of Android devices and it suffered its worst service outage in history.
That translated into the loss of billions of dollars.
