Native name Μιχάλης Λαζαρίδης | Name Mike Lazaridis Net worth US$700 million (2014) | |
 | ||
Known for Quantum Valley InvestmentsMike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano CentrePerimeter Institute for Theoretical PhysicsInstitute for Quantum ComputingBlackBerry LimitedLaurier School of Business & Economics Awards Order of Canada, Academy Award for Best Technical Achievement | ||
Similar John S Chen, Jim Balsillie, Thorsten Heins Nationality Greek-Canadian | ||
Rim ceo mike lazaridis ends bbc interview
Mihal "Mike" Lazaridis, OC, O.Ont, FRS (Greek: Μιχαήλ (Μιχάλης) Λαζαρίδης; born March 14, 1961) is a Greek-Canadian businessman, investor in quantum computing technologies, and founder of BlackBerry, which created and manufactures the BlackBerry wireless handheld device. Lazaridis served in various positions including Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of BlackBerry from 1984 to 2012 and Board Vice Chair and Chair of the Innovation Committee from 2012 to 2013. As a passionate advocate for the power of basic science to improve and transform the world, he co-founded Quantum Valley Investments in March 2013 with childhood friend and BlackBerry co-founder Douglas Fregin to provide financial and intellectual capital for the further development and commercialization of breakthroughs in quantum information science. In 1999 he founded Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, where he also serves as Board Chair. He is also a former chancellor of the University of Waterloo, and an Officer of the Order of Canada. With an estimated net worth of US$800 million (as of June 2011), Lazaridis was ranked by Forbes as the 17th wealthiest Canadian and 651st in the world.
Contents
- Rim ceo mike lazaridis ends bbc interview
- Mike lazaridis ideacity06 part 1
- Personal education and career history
- Donations
- Awards and honours
- References
Mike lazaridis ideacity06 part 1
Personal, education, and career history
Lazaridis was born in Istanbul, Turkey, to Pontic Greek parents with original lineage to the island of Chios. He was five years old when his family moved to Canada in 1966, 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, he enrolled at the University of Waterloo in electrical engineering with an option in computer science. In 1984, Lazaridis responded to a request for proposal from General Motors (commonly known as GM) to develop a network computer control display system. GM awarded him a contract. He dropped out of university that year, just two months before he was scheduled to graduate. The GM contract, a small government grant, and a loan from Lazaridis's parents enabled Lazaridis, Mike Barnstijn, and Douglas Fregin to launch Research In Motion. One of the company's first achievements was the development of barcode technology for film. RIM plowed the profits from that into wireless data transmission research, eventually leading to the introduction of the BlackBerry wireless mobile device in 1999, and its better-known version in 2002.
Lazaridis and his wife Ophelia have also been noted for their philanthropic work in the Waterloo area.
Donations
In 2000, Lazaridis founded the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. He has donated more than $170 million to the institute. In 2002, Lazaridis founded the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo. He, with wife Ophelia, has donated more than $100 million to IQC since 2002.
In 2015, Lazaridis donated $20 million to Wilfrid Laurier University for a new technology-focused management institute at the business school, renamed in his honour as the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics. In 2016, the School, as well as the new business management institute, will move to a new facility, the Lazaridis Hall, at another location on University Avenue in Waterloo.
Awards and honours
On October 21, 1999, Lazaridis received an honorary doctor of engineering degree from the University of Waterloo, and in June 2003, he became its eighth chancellor. In 2000, he was recognized as a distinguished Canadian on Maclean's Honour Roll and was later designated as Canada's Nation Builder of the Year for 2002 by The Globe and Mail newspaper readers. By 2006, he had been appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada and had become a member of the Order of Ontario. In 2014 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. His nomination reads:
Lazaridis received an Academy Award and Emmy Award for technical achievements.