Board of Directors

Ms. Stymiest, 56, has served as a director of the Company since March 2007 and has been the Chair of Board of the Company since January 2012. She has an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario and a FCA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. Ms. Stymiest is currently a corporate director. From 2004 to 2011, Ms. Stymiest was a member of the Group Executive of the Royal Bank of Canada which is responsible for the Bank’s overall strategic direction. Prior to that, she held positions as Chief Executive Officer at TSX Group Inc., Executive Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer at BMO Nesbitt Burns and Partner of Ernst & Young LLP. Ms. Stymiest is currently a Director of George Weston Limited, Sun Life Financial Inc., University Health Network and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. She has also served on a number of professional and charitable organizations including the Canadian Institute for Chartered Accountants’ Accounting Oversight Committee, United Way Campaign Cabinet and Hincks-Dellcrest Children’s Centre.

Mr. Lazaridis, 50, has served as a director of the Company since 1984 and is Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Company. Mr. Lazaridis founded the Company while a student at UW and is known in the global wireless community as a visionary, innovator, and engineer of extraordinary talent. He was Co-CEO of the Company until January 2012, where he was responsible for product strategy, research and development, product development, and manufacturing. He holds an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from the University of Waterloo. In May 2009, Mr. Lazaridis was inducted into the Order of the Business Hall of Fame in recognition of his business excellence, outstanding business achievements and enduring contributions to Canadian society. In recognition of his leadership and innovation, he was named by The Globe and Mail as Canada's Nation Builder of the Year for 2002. He is also an Officer of the Order of Canada. Mr. Lazaridis has more than 50 patents issued and has received dozens of industry and community awards for his innovations in wireless radio technology/software. He has founded two research institutions of international significance: the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, an independent theoretical physics research institute and the Institute for Quantum Computing, a research center focused on fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics and their applications to information processing which was established within the University of Waterloo.

Mr. Dattels, 53, has served as a director of the Company since July 2012. He has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. (Honors) from the University of Western Ontario. Mr. Dattels is a Senior Partner of TPG Capital, LP. Prior to joining TPG, Mr. Dattels served as a Partner and Managing Director of Goldman Sachs and was head of Investment Banking for all Asian countries other than Japan. In addition to the public Board memberships listed below, Mr. Dattels is a Trustee of the San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco Jazz and the World Affairs Council.

Mr. Heins, 54, was appointed as a director of the Company in January 2012. He is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and is a respected business leader with 27 years of broad experience and expertise in wireless networks and consumer electronics devices. Prior to being named CEO in January 2012, Mr. Heins was one of BlackBerry's two Chief Operating Officers and, previously, Senior Vice President for the Handheld Business Unit. Mr. Heins came to BlackBerry in December 2007 from the industrial conglomerate Siemens AG, where he served as Chief Executive Officer of various business divisions in the communication business, Chief Technology Officer and member of the Group Board of the Siemens Communications Group. Mr. Heins holds a master's degree in Science and Physics from the University of Hannover in his native Germany. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce Inc.

Mr. Kerr, 67, has served as a director of the Company since July 2007. Mr. Kerr has a B.Sc. from McGill University and is a Chartered Accountant.  He is Managing Partner of Edper Financial Corporation, an investment holding company.  From July 2002 to August 2006, Mr. Kerr was Chairman of Falconbridge Limited (formerly Noranda Inc.) and prior to that he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Falconbridge Limited. In addition to the public board memberships indicated below, Mr. Kerr is a director of Sustainable Developments Technology Canada, the Toronto Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation, the Special Olympics Canada Foundation and is a member of the advisory board of the Schulich School of Business, York University. 

Ms. Kotchka, 60, has served as a director of the company since July 2011.  She has a B.B.A., Cum Laude, from Ohio University and is a Certified Public Accountant.  Ms. Kotchka is an independent consultant to Fortune 500 companies on innovation, strategy and design.  She is also a speaker at conferences and forums on design and innovation and has been a guest lecturer at business schools and universities including Stanford University, Syracuse University, the University of Miami, and Wake Forest University.  Prior to her retirement from Procter and Gamble, Inc. in 2009, she held various executive roles of increasing responsibility during her 31 year career at Procter & Gamble, including Vice President, Design Innovation & Strategy from 2001 to 2009; Vice President, eBusiness Ventures in 2000; Vice President, Marketing, Global Feminine Care from 1999 to 2000; and Vice President, Design & Marketing Knowledge, P&G Worldwide from 1997 to 1999.  Ms. Kotchka is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Smithsonian Design Museum and an Advisor with Stanford University Institute of Design.  She has also served on a number of charitable organizations including as a member of the United Way Women’s Leadership Council, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the Audubon Society and Reading for Life.

Mr. Lynch, 64, has served as a director of the Company since February 2013. He has a Bachelor and Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from Lowell Technological Institute (now University of Massachusetts) and Post Graduate Executive education from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University. Mr. Lynch is President of FB Associates, LLC, which provides advisory and consulting services at the intersection of technology, marketing and business operations. Prior to his current role, Mr. Lynch served as Executive Vice-President & Chief Technology Officer for Verizon Communications and the Executive Vice-President & Chief Technology Officer of Verizon Wireless. He is a Fellow of The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and currently serves as a Director of TranSwitch Corporation and Ruckus Wireless. Mr. Lynch has also served on a number of professional organizations including the GSM Association, the CDMA Development Group, the Federal Communications Commission Technical Advisory Committee and the Communications Security Reliability and Interoperability Council. Mr. Lynch has been honored with the President's Award by the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association and has also been inducted into the Wireless History Foundation's Hall of Fame.

Mr. Martin, 54, has served as a director of the Company since July 2007.  Mr. Martin has an AB from Harvard College, with a concentration in Economics, and a MBA from the Harvard School of Business.  He is Dean and Professor of Strategy at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Mr. Martin was formerly a director of Monitor Company, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based consulting firm.  In addition to the public board memberships indicated below, Mr. Martin also serves as the Chair of the Ontario Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress, a director on the board of the Skoll Foundation, Vice-Chair of Tennis Canada, a trustee of The Hospital for Sick Children, and  director of AIC Institute for Corporate Citizenship.

Mr. Nordberg, 56, has served as a director of the Company since February 2013. He has a degree in Electrical Engineering from Malmo Tekniska Laroverk in Sweden, received training as an Engineer in the Swedish Marines and attended International Management, Marketing and Finance courses at INSEAD University in France. From October 2009 to May 2012, Mr. Nordberg served as President & CEO of Sony Ericsson and from May 2012 to December 2012, he served as Chairman of Sony Mobile. Prior to that, Mr. Nordberg held various executive roles with Ericsson since 1996. Mr. Nordberg currently serves as Chairman of Vestas Wind Systems A/S and is a Director of Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA) and AB Electrolux. He serves as a representative for the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Southern Sweden and as a member of the Hewlett Packard Communications, Media & Entertainment Board of Industry Advisors.

Mr. Richardson, 78, has served as a director of the Company since 2003 and has been the Lead Director of the Company since March 2007. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto, an MBA from Harvard Business School and an FCA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. Mr. Richardson is currently a corporate director. He was appointed Chairman of the Ontario Pension Board in July 2004 and retired from that position at the end of his three year term in June 2007. Mr. Richardson was previously a Senior Partner of Clarkson Gordon & Co, Executive Vice President, Lonvest Corporation (now London Insurance Group Inc.), President of Great Lakes Power, Deputy Chairman of London Insurance Groups Inc., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wellington Insurance, and Chairman of London Guarantee Insurance Company. He was a past board member with The Insurance Bureau of Canada and the Facility Association.  In addition to the public board memberships indicated below, Mr. Richardson is currently the Chairman of Boiler Inspection and Insurance Co.

Prem Watsa has served as a director of the Company since January 2012. Since 1985, Mr. Watsa has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive Officer of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited - a financial services holding company whose corporate objective is to achieve a high rate of return on invested capital and build long-term shareholder value. He has been Vice President of Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel Ltd. since 1985. Mr. Watsa formerly served as Vice President of GW Asset Management from 1983 to 1984 and in various positions, ultimately as a Vice President, with Confederation Life Investment Counsel from 1974 to 1983.

Mr. Wetmore, 61, has served as a director of the Company since March 2007.  He has a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo and graduated from the Advanced Executive Program at the Kellogg School, Northwestern University. Mr. Wetmore is currently a corporate director. He is the former President and Chief Executive Officer and also the former Chief Financial Officer of IBM Canada.  He also held various finance positions at IBM Americas.  In addition to the public boards indicated below, Mr. Wetmore has previously served as a director of the Sunnybrook Hospital Foundation, a member of the University of Waterloo Board of Governors and a member of the United Way of Greater Toronto Campaign Cabinet.