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Featured
Keynote Speaker
Mike Lazaridis
President and Co-Chief Executive Officer Research In Motion
Mike 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 the University of Waterloo, 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. He is a member of the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Ontario Research and
Innovation Council, and a Governor of the Information Technology
Association of Canada. Mr. Lazaridis is also a long-standing member of the
Board of Governors of the University of Waterloo and, in May 2003, was
installed as its Chancellor.
Mr. Lazaridis supports his
community and country through generous philanthropic gifts made possible
by his success in business. He has donated $50 million to the University
of Waterloo to help establish the Institute for Quantum Computing.
His most noted gift of $100
million established the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. Mr.
Lazaridis' leadership and tireless effort have generated more than $100
million in additional private and public sector funding for this world
centre of excellence, based in Waterloo and affiliated with more than 30
Canadian universities. Since its opening in 2001, Perimeter has attracted
the attention of the world's scientific community.
In recognition of his
technical innovations, the University of Waterloo awarded Mr. Lazaridis
with an honorary Doctor of Engineering in 2000 and McMaster University
awarded him with an honorary Doctorate in 2005. In 2002, Mr. Lazaridis
shared Canada's most prestigious innovation prize, The Ernest C. Manning
Principal Award, with RIM colleague Gary Mousseau.
Like his engineering and
scientific work, Mr. Lazaridis' community achievements have been widely
recognized. He was named an Officer to the Order of Canada in 2006 and was
listed on the TIME 100 List of Most Influential People in 2005. Mr.
Lazaridis is a member of Maclean's Honour Role of distinguished Canadians,
is a recipient of the 2002 Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce
Community Leader of the Year Award and has been previously recognized as
Canada's Nation Builder of the Year and Ontario's Entrepreneur of the
Year.
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