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52 Comments

RIM Co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis reduce their salaries to $1 per year

By Adam Zeis on 15 Dec 2011 05:07 pm
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RIM Third Quarter Results

Early on in the Third Quarter 2012 Earnings Call today, Jim Balsillie took the reins as we anxiously awaited news on the results. He prefaced the third quarter results by stating that both he and Mike Lazaridis will be lowering their salaries to just $1 per year. Woah. I guess this means they won't be stepping down anytime soon. A pretty amazing move by the CEOs here, but we'll have to see how it pans out long term and if it will hold any benefit to the financial situation. Balsillie and Lazaridis have already lost their billionaire status and the shareholders are still looking to split the CEO and chairman roles.

Topics: Research In Motion News & Rumors

RIM Earnings Call Live Blog - Dec. 15, 2011 Previous
RIM to ramp up US marketing efforts next year leading up to launch of "BlackBerry 10 phones later in the year"Next
Adam Zeis Adam Zeis 3040 (articles) 2792 (forum posts)
52 comments

Wolf35Nine

No problem. I'm still buying RIM stock!

q649

Let's hope they're worth the $2.

geek126

That is pretty huge, now the only income they will have is the 15 million from their stock options and guaranteed bonuses. How will they ever survive.

decypher44

Not good enough. They need to step down. Besides, they are HARDLY the first leaders to take a $1/yr paycheck

mithrazor

I could see it work. It gives them the focus/motivation to get their company back on track so they can make whatever amount of money they make.

But then again, I'm pretty sure most of their money comes from having a percentage of the company.

stubbornswiss

These guys are still playing games.

This salary reduction is only symbolic, as people in their positions 'earn' far more in expenses and bonuses.

Pearl9100

You are right. They probably will get bigger bonuses this year and will probably make almost the same.

mssca

+1 because the fact the bonus will come in handy without the knowledge of share holders and the public. I hope RIM go bankrupt and a company like Google buy them or someone who owns a large portion of shares force the CEOs booted out of the company.

Even Apple CEO Mr. Jobs was kicked out of his own company once.

I love BBs and the physical keyboards. But I had enough of buying a product from a public stock market based company that has zero accountability.

BBPandy

$1 wage..that's taking a page out of Steve Job's Playbook

Pearl9100

Exactly what I thought. Not a fan of all 3 currently.

00stryder

I see what you did there... ;)

mtbrown19

"lost their millionaire status"?
I know things have been bad for RIM...

q649

billionaire , not millionaire. Jeesh!

Edit: I obviously caught the blog post-edit.

axe50

Adam, they lost Billionaire status, not Millionaire...they still have plenty of cash :)

Adam Zeis

Fixed! So much for my speed blogging :)

Pilchard

Based on their performance they're overpaid at $1 each. Their errors are costing RIM a lot more than that. Playbook write down was hundreds of millions of dollars, for instance.

Bold 9000
Playbook 16MB

4ron

Reduced salaries? No loss. Each is worth $1.1 billion.

jasonec

$1 is far too high for those RIMtards. They need to step down.

19cbb

$2 dollars spent on these egotistical schmucks is too much!

pushfan

Maybe with the salary expense savings they can hire someone that can turn things around.

Xacradin

STOP MAKING SO MANY PHONE MODELS, IMPROVE WHAT UVE GOT! NOT FAIL 99xx (TOUCH, KEYPAD, SMALL SCREEN) NOT SO COMPETITIVE RIM

JWWDUKE

Honestly tho, at one dollar they are overpaid!!!!!

moshpitpal

is that in euros, pounds, or us dollars?

Kind of sad about the later BB10 phones. Oh well. Will have to rock the 9780 until tmobile stops butt gouging folks for the 9900.

berklon

If they really want to make a difference, they should just step down.

Time for new leadership.

rickgainsmith

$1 is all that is going to be left after these guys finish...they have lost the confidence of everyone...their customers, their investors, what I can only assume their staff.

Growth can only occur once constructive change is made... The leaders are failing this company. Time for new blood.

xandermac

Yeauh. And how much in stock options I wonder.

siddo_d

OMG RIM is in bad times

westex#WP

based on the last 36 months....they are still overpaid.

Darlaten

If anything, they should be paying RIM to allow them to still be there.

re_matters

Good move! That's a step in the right direction. Baby step and possible publicity stunt but hey, it's not like anyone here could run RIM any better. ;-)

harleyx

Gee, darn shame guys...you might have to put regular fuel in the porches....

How about doing it Lee Iacocca style...$1 per year. Thats all your leadership is worth

Hwycop

Is that Canadian Tire money or a credit on a Tim Hortons card??

vandeleigh

omg. they are so impressive and serious. omg.

scottae316

I hope that is total salary for both of them.

Kiddo2050

Actually I think it's too late to get rid of them now, might as well wait for the phones to come out. if they fail then the CEOs must go. If they are a hit well then...

anthogag

Good move. It tells me they're serious and about to 'get it on'...

joehack

Compared to the damage they did to RIM this is nothing. The should leave immediatly!

conker

They did this just so they wouldn't be out of a job.

herrbremerhaven

They have drawn a line in the sand, challenging shareholders to not vote them out. A few very large investors are in RIMM shares recently (no, not puny Jaguar) and I bet they are pissed. Time to bring in someone new to point the company in a direction. Honestly, I no longer care what direction, as long as it's not backwards like the current guiding of the coCEOs.

aloofkid

Salary is just $1, but they still have bonuses and allowances. They Still get a lot of money.

RWD

Shoulda just stuck a minus sign in front of whatever it was they made before. Pay for the privilege of staying on.

lawsangel

I can almost guarantee that what ever they have lost in there salary will be added to there bonus, they will also benefit in the fact that there bonus will not be taxed.

Basically the rich are getting richer one way or another.

Liquid_Revolver

Step down and bow to Apple and Android

olblueyez

Their stock holders, they don't need salaries to make money. Its a hollow gesture.

SupaCoop

They may be super wealthy, but Mike L every morning starts his day at a Tim Hortons. He shows up, buys his coffee, then sits in his Land Rover for a bit before heading out.

I guess he doesn't feel he's incredibly recognizable or something. Good to know that with all of his wealth (and some recognition/popularity) he's still capable of being on his own in public.

watson.harrison

Co-CEO's what a terrible idea. I don't care what they're getting paid the company is a sinking ship. I can't BELIEVE they are delaying the only device that has a slim chance of regaining ground in the US market until the end of 2012 - They must be banking on the fact that Apple and Google are going to completely tank? Seriously - they have almost nothing to offer compared to the other devices. This ship is about 3 inches above water right now - take your last gasp.