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Blackberry CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis Step Down

By on January 23, 2012

Research In Motions’s co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are stepping down as CEOs, and COO Thorsten Heins will take over.

In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Heins said of RIM, “It’s a fantastic growth story and it’s not coming to an end … What you will see with me is rigour and flawless execution.”

RIM’s CEOs certainly deserved to go after squandering the company’s sizable marketshare lead. Still, it’s surprising. They are the largest shareholders in the company, and Lazaridis founded RIM

The co-CEOs had been promising a top down review of the company’s operations. Apparently, that resulted in this change. They are not leaving the company entirely. They will be on the board and Balsillie will be a director, and Lazaridis a vice-chairman.

According to the Globe and Mail, new CEO Heins “helped make the BlackBerry an aspirational brand in high-growth emerging economies.”