| Do you know who Mike Lazaridis is? |
| HARD / GADGETS / Saturday, 08 October 2011 15:57 |
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 Mike Lazaridis is the Founder, President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Research In Motion, most commonly known to us as BLACKBERRY. Mike is not only of Greek origin, he also feels very Greek and cares about Greece. Rumor has it that around five years ago he tried in partnership with a local entrepreneur to establish RIM Hellas, with the aim of manufacturing in Greece the Blackberries for the European, Middle Eastern and African markets. Thanks to this Ellinnara he picked up his bogalakia and took it somewhere else East! Another rumor has it that as he didn't learn his lesson he came back again, this time to the Greek goverment with a cheque of $100Million for the state to invest in Science & Technology Research. After almost a year the Greek state still "could not find a way to accept the money". So, Mike went back to his other home and donated the money to the University of Waterloo to help establish an Institute for Quantum Computing.
Do you expect me to comment about them?! No, I will not. They are our dead weight and unfortunately we are cursed to carry them along for many years to come. However, what does bug me is where were all these entrepreneurship, technology and innovation visionaries tis dekaras tote. I wonder how many Greek companies turned their head away from state projects and EU funding to knock on Mike's door? Now that mobile programming is easier thanks to Steve, Larry & Sergey, we have a trillion Greek mobile wannaby companies and of course everybody is doing apps, mnv kourastoume kai piasoume sta xeria kati pio dyskolo poy thelei douleia! Great companies need an insightful vission and a long, most often unpleasant and very risky journey to build them. There is no such thing as a quick fix or quick buck in technology. As the legendary Don Valentine of Sequoia Capital once said when asked about the lack of good executives, "everybody wants to be a CEO, but no one wants to live the life of one". That is our problem, we have illussions. We all want to magically "be the dream" but very, very few are prepared to "fight to win it".
Now, Mike is a visionary that built a great product and company. Those that lived abroad a few years ago know that Blackberry used to be as hot as iPhone is today and the truth is it remains a top choice for professionals. Over the last couple of months RIM had a bit of a hard time, but it will turn around. Keep it up Mike! We are with you!
WTMNews.gr supports Greek technology companies at home & abroad, and so should you!
 About Mike Lazaridis Mr. Lazaridis is known in the global wireless community as a visionary, innovator, and engineer of extraordinary talent. He traces his passion for his work to his hometown of Windsor, Ontario where his love of science and fascination with electronics were nurtured in supportive family and school environments. As President and Co-CEO of Research In Motion (RIM), a company Mr. Lazaridis founded while a student at UW, he is responsible for product strategy, research and development, product development, and manufacturing. Mr. Lazaridis is also a leader in his community and a passionate advocate for education and scientific research. Mr. Lazaridis supports his community and country through generous philanthropic gifts made possible by his success in business. He has donated $100 million to UW to help establish an Institute for Quantum Computing. Mr. Lazaridis also personally invested $150 million in the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI) and, through his leadership and tireless effort, has generated more than $100 million in additional private and public sector funding for this world leading centre of scientific excellence. PI is home to a growing cluster of international scientists who are pushing the limits of our fundamental understanding of space, time, matter and information. Since opening in 2001, the institute has attracted the attention of the world’s scientific research and educational outreach community. The independent centre is now associated with over 30 Canadian universities and a growing number of institutes world-wide. Mr. Lazaridis holds honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Waterloo (Engineering), McMaster University, University of Windsor and Université Laval. He has been awarded Canada's most prestigious innovation prize - The Ernest C. Manning Principal Award and was listed on the TIME 100 List of Most Influential People. Mr. Lazaridis is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, was named to the Order of Ontario and is an Officer of the Order of Canada. More from this author: |
| Last Updated on Saturday, 08 October 2011 23:41 |
