Mike Lazaridis

Mihal "Mike" Lazaridis, OC, O.Ont, FRS (Greek: Μιχαήλ (Μιχάλης) Λαζαρίδης; born March 14, 1961) is a Greek-Canadian Mike Lazaridis businessman, investor in quantum computing technologies, and Μιχάλης Λαζαρίδης founder of BlackBerry, which created and manufactured 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,[4] he co- founded Quantum Valley Investments in March 2013 with childhood friend and BlackBerry co-founder to provide financial and intellectual capital for the further development and commercialization of breakthroughs in quantum information science.[5] In 1999 he founded Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, where he also serves as Board Chair.[6] In 2002, he founded the Institute for Quantum Computing.[7] He is also a former chancellor of the , and an Officer of the Order of . 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.[8] Mike Lazaridis portrait via the Royal Society Born Mihal Lazaridis Contents March 14, 1961[1] , Turkey Personal, education, and career history Alma mater University of Waterloo Philanthropy (dropped out in 1984, Awards and honours honorary degree in See also 2000) References Occupation Founder & Managing Partner, Quantum External links Valley Investments Founder, BlackBerry Personal, education, and career history Limited Known for Quantum Valley Lazaridis was born in Istanbul, Turkey, to Pontic Greek parents with Investments[2] original lineage to the island of Chios. He was five years old when Mike & Ophelia [1] his family moved to Canada in 1966, settling in Windsor, . Lazaridis Quantum- At age 12, he won a prize at the Windsor Public Library for reading Nano Centre every science book in the library.[9] In 1979, he enrolled at the University of Waterloo in electrical engineering with an option in Perimeter Institute for science. In 1984, Lazaridis responded to a request for Theoretical Physics proposal from General Motors (commonly known as GM) to Institute for Quantum [10] develop a network computer control display system. GM Computing awarded him a contract. He dropped out of university that year, just two months before he was scheduled to graduate. The GM contract, BlackBerry Limited a small government grant, and a loan from Lazaridis's parents Lazaridis School of enabled Lazaridis, Mike Barnstijn, and Douglas Fregin to launch Business and Research In Motion. One of the company's first achievements was the development of technology for film. RIM plowed the Economics profits from that into wireless data transmission research, eventually Net worth US$700 million leading to the introduction of the BlackBerry wireless mobile device (2014)[3] in 1999, and its better-known version in 2002. Awards FRS (2014)[2] Lazaridis and his wife Ophelia have also been noted for their Website www.forbes.com philanthropic work in the Waterloo area. /profile/mike-lazaridis (https://www.forbes.co Philanthropy m/profile/mike-lazaridi s) In 2000, Lazaridis founded and donated more than $170 million to the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.[11][12] He and his wife Ophelia founded and donated more than $100 million to the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo in 2002.[7] In 2015, Lazaridis donated $20 million to Wilfrid Laurier University for a new technology-focused management institute at the business school, which was renamed in his honour as the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics.[13][14][15]

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. He was listed on Maclean's Honour Roll as a distinguished Canadian in 2000 and named Canada's Nation Builder of the Year for 2002 by readers of The Globe and Mail newspaper. In 2006, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Order of Ontario.[16] In 2014 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.[17] His nomination reads:

Father of what has become known as the , Mike Lazaridis is recognized in the global wireless community as a visionary, innovator and engineer of extraordinary talent. He is the founder of RIM and the creator of the BlackBerry. Since 1999, he has made the primary donations establishing the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) and the University of Waterloo Quantum-Nano Centre. The Perimeter Institute has already become an international beacon for theoretical physics and IQC is widely regarded as the leading centre of quantum information science worldwide. Together, these institutes have transformed physics in Canada and made a major impact internationally.[2]

Lazaridis received an Academy Award and Emmy Award for technical achievements.[18]

See also

List of Canadians by net worth

References

1. "Mike Lazaridis | The Canadian Encyclopedia" (https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/art icle/mike-lazaridis). www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 21 March 2020. 2. Mr Mike Lazaridis OC FRS (https://royalsociety.org/people/fellowship/2014/mike-lazaridis/) 3. Babad, Michael (June 23, 2011). "Profile of Mike Lazaridis" (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/ report-on-business/top-business-stories/rims-balsillie-and-lazaridis-lose-their-billionaire-status/ article2072777/). The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 2011-06-23. 4. "RIM co-founder donates $50M to Waterloo physics centre" (http://www.cbc.ca/news/technolog y/rim-co-founder-donates-50m-to-waterloo-physics-centre-1.702363). CBC News. CBC News. June 5, 2008. Retrieved 8 October 2015. 5. Quantum Valley | Media Centre (http://quantumvalleyinvestments.com/media/). Quantum Valley Investments (2013-03-19). Retrieved on 2013-10-23. 6. Perimeter Institute Website (http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/index.php?option=com_content&t ask=view&id=30&Itemid=72&pi=Mike_Lazaridis) 7. "Quick facts" (https://web.archive.org/web/20171111043712/https://uwaterloo.ca/institute-for-q uantum-computing/about/quick-facts). About Waterloo. University of Waterloo. 2015. Archived from the original (https://uwaterloo.ca/institute-for-quantum-computing/about/quick-facts) on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2015. 8. Forbes https://www.forbes.com/wealth/billionaires/list?country=223&industry=-1&state= (http s://www.forbes.com/wealth/billionaires/list?country=223&industry=-1&state=). Missing or empty |title= (help) 9. Article on Mihalis Lazaridis (http://www.crn.com/sections/special/reports/hof.jhtml?ArticleID=17 4907165) 10. Lazaridis, Mike, How I got started, The BlackBerry Boss, Fortune Magazine, April 27, 2009, p.20 11. Magueijo, J. O. (2009). "Howard's end at Perimeter". Nature. 461 (7263): 477. Bibcode:2009Natur.461..477M (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009Natur.461..477M). doi:10.1038/461477a (https://doi.org/10.1038%2F461477a). 12. Hand, E. (2009). "Physics: The edge of physics". Nature. 461 (7263): 462–5. doi:10.1038/461462a (https://doi.org/10.1038%2F461462a). PMID 19779427 (https://pubmed. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19779427). 13. Lewington, Jennifer (8 September 2015). "Wilfrid Laurier University names business school for Mike Lazaridis" (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/wilfrid-laurier-university- names-business-school-for-mike-lazaridis/article26243756/). The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 8 September 2015. 14. "The Lazaridis Hall building" (https://wlu.ca/spotlights/fall-2015/description-of-lazaridis-hall.htm l). Wilfrid Laurier University. 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015. 15. "New management school at Wilfrid Laurier to focus on global business" (http://www.cbc.ca/ne ws/canada/kitchener-waterloo/new-management-school-at-wilfrid-laurier-to-focus-on-global-bu siness-1.3049970). Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015. 16. Order of Ontario appointments announced (http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/Dece mber2006/12/c6436.html) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20070109075700/http://www. newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2006/12/c6436.html) 2007-01-09 at the Wayback Machine 17. "Perimeter Founder Elected to Royal Society" (https://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/node/93784). Perimeter Institute. Retrieved 7 May 2014. 18. Anderssen, Erin (2002-12-27). "Mike Lazaridis, 2002" (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/new s/national/mike-lazaridis-2002/article1317968/?page=all). The Globe and Mail.

External links PM Paul Martin Speech (https://web.archive.org/web/20060622225231/http://www.cap.ca/new s/PM-comments-Oct04.html) Acceptance Speech (http://financetech.com/video/vblog.jhtml?videoFile=LazaridisSpeech&vid eoPath=http://i.cmpnet.com/financetech/video/&nodownload=true&autoplay=true&playerWidth =320&playerHeight=240) 2012 AAAS Annual Conference Plenary Speech in Vancouver, BC (https://web.archive.org/we b/20121201192850/http://www.aaas.org/meetings/2012/program/plenaries/lazaridis.shtml) The BIrth of the BlackBerry (https://web.archive.org/web/20120422100136/http://blackberrypla netbook.com/index.php/BlackBerry_Planet_Sample_Chapter#Young_Mike_Lazaridis)

Business positions BlackBerry Co-CEO (with Jim Preceded by Succeeded by Balsillie) Company Founded 1984 1984-2012

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