Jim Balsillie will be off RIM’s board by the summer—at least so says one activist investor

As if losing his job—and most of RIM’s value—wasn’t bad enough, former Research In Motion CEO Jim Balsillie is now being trash talked by an activist investor. Vic Alboini, a RIM shareholder and the CEO of Canadian merchant bank Jaguar Financial, told the Financial Post that Balsillie will be history at RIM by July. “My intuitive sense is that this whole arrangement is somewhat transitional and that there are further changes ahead,” he offered, pointing out that while Mike Lazaridis has been made vice-chair of the board and chair of an innovation committee, Balsillie has no specific role apart from simply serving on the board. While it’s tempting to write Alboini off as just another angry shareholder, activist investors do have the capacity to wreak major change. It may just be time for Balsillie to focus on those hockey dreams again. Read the entire story [Financial Post] »