RIM Co-CEOs Balisillie and Lazaridis to Step Down

Research In Motion’s co-CEOs, Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, will vacate their leadership positions at the BlackBerry maker on Monday. Both men will be replaced by the company’s COO, Thorsten Heins. In addition to leaving their roles as CEOs, Balsillie and Lazaridis will also leave the chairman of the board positions. Lazaridis will remain vice chairman of the board, and Balsillie will remain a member of the board. Current board member Barbara Stymiest will become the chairperson of the board overseeing RIM. The company denies that the the leadership change has anything to do with RIM’s performance over the past year, during which its stock has lost 75% of its value. Shareholders have voiced frustration with Lazaridis and Balsillie since mid-2011. The new CEO said that the company will continue on its current path, with plans to released its Blackberry 10 platform and associated new smartphones toward the end of the year. Heins said he believes BlackBerry 10 will be a hit with consumers, business users, and developers. Heins also said that if BlackBerry 10 is successful enough, the company might consider licensing it to other hardware vendors. Mike Lazaridis founded RIM in 1984 and was joined later by Balsillie.