Jim Balsillie
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James L. (Jim) Balsillie was born on February 3, 1961 in Peterborough, Ontario. He is a Chartered Accountant, chairman and co-CEO of Research In Motion. He received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi fraternity. He earned an MBA from Harvard University in 1989.
Jim is also a noted athlete and passionate fitness advocate. He was Athlete of the Year at Trinity College, University of Toronto, plays hockey and golf at competitive levels, and coaches his son's soccer and basketball teams. He currently trains and competes in Men's Long Course Triathlons. <ref>http://www.rim.com/newsroom/media/executive/index.shtml</ref>
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[edit] Penguins Purchase
On October 5, 2006, Balsille purchased the Pittsburgh Penguins, an NHL franchise, for US$175 million from Mario Lemieux and his partners (the Lemieux Group). The deal still has to be approved by the league. <ref>http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2006/10/05/penssale.html</ref>
At the Penguins' home opener that evening, Balsillie appeared in the TV booth with broadcasters Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey during the second period. Upon hearing that Errey was from Peterborough, Balsillie's hometown, Balsillie responded with an expletive that went out over live TV. [2]
[edit] Philanthropic work
In 2000, Balsillie provided $10 million of personal funds towards the founding of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, adding to the $100 million already contributed by fellow RIM executive Mike Lazaridis.
In 2002, Balsillie founded the Centre for International Governance Innovation with $30 million of personal funds.
[edit] Statement regarding patents
Responding to the settlement by RIM against NTP, Inc., Balsillie listed several flaws with the U.S. patent system, particularly that too many "bogus" patents are issued. He also stated that the judge in the case ignored later findings by the U.S. patent office that NTP's patents were not valid, and quoted a Newsweek article in saying that the court's treatment of RIM was like "a judge in a murder case pondering execution while ignoring DNA evidence that exonerates the accused."
[edit] Notes
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