| Balance of power: Since the early 1990s, Lazaridis has shared power at mobile device maker Research In Motion with co-CEO Jim Balsillie. Although such arrangements are rare and often end badly, Lazaridis consistently argued Balsillie's aptitudes for finance and business development complemented his own experience with product development and production. During the company's long and remarkable ascent, shareholders tolerated and even accepted it. But with Research In Motion losing ground to competitors Apple and Google, the company bent to activist shareholder demands: in July it announced an independent board committee will study the issue and report its recommendations by Jan. 31. (RIM's plummeting shares have eroded Lazaridis's wealth even further since our evaluation cut-off date this year.) |
