Mike Lazaridis

Mike Lazaridis
Mike Lazaridis
Born	Mihal Lazaridis; March 14, 1961 (age 65); Istanbul, Turkey
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, investor
Known for	Co-founder of Research In Motion (BlackBerry)

Mihal "Mike" Lazaridis (born March 14, 1961) is a Greek Canadian entrepreneur and investor specializing in quantum computing technologies. He co-founded Research In Motion, the company behind the development of the BlackBerry wireless handheld device. In November 2009, Canadian Business ranked him as the 11th richest Canadian, estimating his net worth at billion.

From 1984 until 2012, Lazaridis served as co-chairman and co-CEO of BlackBerry, subsequently holding positions as Board Vice Chair and Chair of the Innovation Committee until 2013. A passionate supporter of fundamental science as a driver of innovation, he partnered with BlackBerry co-founder Douglas Fregin in March 2013 to establish Quantum Valley Investments, aimed at financing and commercializing breakthroughs in quantum information science. Lazaridis also founded the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in 1999, where he remains board chair, and launched the Institute for Quantum Computing in 2002. He is a former chancellor of the University of Waterloo and has been honored as an Officer of the Order of Canada (OC).

Early life

Born in Istanbul, Turkey, to Pontic Greek parents Nick and Dorothy Lazaridis, whose ancestry traces back to Chios, Lazaridis relocated with his family to Windsor, Ontario, Canada in 1966. At age 12, he earned recognition from the Windsor Public Library for having read every science book available there.

Career

Lazaridis began studying electrical engineering with a computer science option at the University of Waterloo in 1979. In 1984, he obtained a contract from General Motors to create a networked computer control display system. Two months before completing his degree, he left university to concentrate on this project. With financial support from GM, a government grant, and a loan from his parents, Lazaridis co-founded Research In Motion (RIM) alongside Mike Barnstijn and Douglas Fregin. Early achievements included developing barcode technology for film applications, which provided funding for wireless data transmission research and ultimately led to launching the BlackBerry device in 1999 and its widely acclaimed iteration in 2002.

Philanthropy

In 2000, Lazaridis established the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics with donations exceeding $170 million. Alongside his wife Ophelia, he contributed over $100 million to create the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo in 2002. In 2015, he gifted $20 million to Wilfrid Laurier University to found a technology-centered management institute within its business school, which was subsequently renamed the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics.

Awards and honours

On October 21, 1999, Lazaridis was awarded an honorary doctor of engineering degree by the University of Waterloo and became its eighth chancellor in June 2003. He was featured on Maclean's Honour Roll as a distinguished Canadian in 2000 and was voted Canada's Nation Builder of the Year by readers of The Globe and Mail in 2002. He received appointments as an Officer of the Order of Canada and member of the Order of Ontario in 2006. In 2014, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.

His nomination recognized him as a pioneer of the smartphone, celebrated worldwide as an innovator and visionary. As RIM’s founder and creator of BlackBerry, Lazaridis made significant philanthropic contributions establishing the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC), and the University of Waterloo's Quantum-Nano Centre. These entities have become global leaders in theoretical physics and quantum information science, profoundly influencing Canada's scientific community.

Lazaridis received an Academy Award in 1999 for technical contributions related to a high-speed barcode reader utilized in film editing—a technology that also earned an Emmy Award in 1994.

Personal life

In 2020, Lazaridis acquired the 80 m (262 ft) yacht named Artefact, a bespoke vessel crafted by Nobiskrug, celebrated for its award-winning exterior design and incorporation of hybrid electric systems.

Lazaridis and his spouse Ophelia are well-known for their philanthropic contributions within the Waterloo area. In 2018, they gifted ten million dollars to the Stratford Festival to support the restoration of the Tom Patterson Theatre.

In popular culture

In the 2023 movie BlackBerry, Lazaridis is depicted by actor Jay Baruchel.

References

External links