Jim Balsillie Biography

James Laurence Balsillie (born February 3, 1961) is a Canadian businessman, philanthropist and former co-CEO of the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, 'BlackBerry'). He is also the founder of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), Canadian International Council (CIC), Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) and the Arctic Research Foundation (ARF). Following his retirement as co-CEO of RIM in January 2012, Balsillie assumed a director role on RIM's Board of Directors. In March 2012, he resigned from the Board due to strategic differences with RIM's new leader and CEO, Thorsten Heins, who abandoned the licensing strategy that Balsillie was pursuing. He served as a member of the United Nations Panel on Global Sustainability until 2012. In June 2013, the Government of Canada appointed Balsillie as Chair of the Canada Foundation for Sustainable Development Technology.