Once called the Warren Buffet of Canada, Stephen Jarislowsky, the sixth largest investor in RIM, has began to divest in the company and he’s leaving some very scathing criticism. First, he’s insisting that the roles of CEO and chairman of the board need to be separated. “You should not have these two people at both positions because they have worked together all their lives and they are basically the same person, from point of view of policy,” Jarislowsky, chairman of Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd..
Jarislowsky also criticized Jim Balsillie, saying he’s lost focus. “I believe he is taking his eye off the ball,” Jarislowsky said. “He’s gotten involved in all sorts of things outside the business.” Jarislowsky is probably talking about Balsillie’s attempts to bring an NHL franchise to Canada as well as his involvements in non-profit initiatives around Waterloo.
It’s a difficult time for RIM these days but things look good in the near future. The next year is going to be very trying but if they can make it out and really impress the market with a new generation of BlackBerrys, it’s possible that the share price will rise to its old glory days.
In a move topping Google giving away G2s at the Google I/O conference, Mike Lazaridis announced that RIM will be giving all the attendees of BlackBerry World a free 16GB BlackBerry Playbook. This is the 10th anniversary of WES/BlackBerry World, with the most attendees they’ve had to date. At 6,000 attendees and a price of $500 per PlayBook, this $3,000,000 giveaway is truly awesome.
Ever wondered how Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis stay connected even as they spend so much time traveling between countries? Well they do it thanks to a company called TrueNorth Avionics, based in Ottawa, Canada. The company partnered with RIM to give them an airborne solution for their corporate fleet and have since grown the company to support all smartphones and more solutions.
