A number of customers and colleagues recently asked me what I thought of Jim Balsillie's resignation as chairman of Research in Motion (RIMM).
From the time I saw my first BlackBerry in 1998, I knew a revolution on par with the introduction of the laptop computer was coming for mobile professionals.
I first had the pleasure of meeting Jim Balsillie in 2000. What was immediately evident was Jim's deep passion for driving this revolution according to his vision. He was already speaking like an evangelist of applications beyond email and PIM data before those "mobile killer apps" had been adopted in mainstream corporate culture.
It was Jim's leadership and passion that encouraged partners like REGARD to adopt the slogan "Liberating People From Their Desks" and to develop products like R-Approval & R-Charter. Mobilizing critical business application to BlackBerry Smartphones today is the realization of Jim's late 1990's vision.
I feel regardless of Jim's decision to step down as chairman, he will continue to pour much of his heart and soul into RIM products as ever. After all, Jim has not stepped down as co-CEO.
That said, Jim's recent highly publicized purchase of the Pittsburgh Penguins leads one to believe he may begin to pursue other interests as well. Clearly, he has earned it!
Perhaps we will see the Waterloo Penguins before long?
Below is a link to my comments in Computer Reseller News (CRN).
http://crncanada.ca/content/networking/balsillie-steps-down-as-r.shtml
