At RIM, Jim is responsible for driving corporate strategy, business development, marketing, sales, and finance.

A native of Peterborough Ontario, Jim earned a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto and an MBA from Harvard University, and is a Chartered Accountant.

The success of RIM and its flagship BlackBerry® wireless solution has provided Jim with the opportunity to give back to his community and country. In 2002, he announced a major endowment gift to establish the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a non-profit, non-partisan research institution based in Waterloo dedicated to improving approaches to transnational policy issues in the new global economy. This new institute will be a world center for research, scholarship and outreach.

In addition to his commitment to the new Institute, Jim is a founding donor of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and a patron of the Grand River Hospital where his leadership gift helped establish a new cancer care center. He is a major donor to RIM Park in the City of Waterloo and principal benefactor for the Balsillie Collection of Roy Studio Images in his native Peterborough. Most recently, Jim helped establish the Waterloo Regional Children's Museum, a unique facility where art and technology meet to stimulate creativity and motivate learning.

Jim's commitment to the community and innovation in business leadership is widely recognized. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and Dalhousie University, and was also elected a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (FCA), the highest designation that the Institute confers.

Jim is also a noted athlete, passionate fitness advocate and role model for his friends and colleagues. 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.