Canada: RIM board preparing to appoint independent chairman.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

BlackBerry maker RIM is reportedly preparing to relieve co-CEOs Mike Laziridis and Jim Balsillie of their titles of co-chairmen of the board and install independent director Barbara Stymiest in their place, according to Canada’s Financial Post.

Sources said Stymiest, the former Royal Bank of Canada COO who joined the RIM board in 2007, is the leading candidate to replace Laziridis and Balsillie, with the company under considerable pressure from shareholders, including a group led by Canadian merchant bank Jaguar Financial.

Seven independent directors of the RIM board, including Stymiest, are examining the board structure, and considering the possibility of an independent chair and how important it is for the business for Laziridis and Balsillie to have significant board titles in addition to their CEO remit.

A report is expected from the independent directors on 31 January. "The committee is on track to meet this schedule and the board will then publicly respond to the recommendations of the committee within 30 days," RIM said in a statement. However, the company did not comment on the possibility of a change in board leadership.

RIM agreed to a governance review in July last year to avoid a public confrontation at the annual general shareholders’ meeting. Shareholder Northwest & Ethical Investments had previously submitted a proposal to divide the chair and CEO roles and for there to be an independent chair.

RIM’s share price hit a seven-year low in November after the company’s stock price fell by more than 70 percent during 2011 as declining sales and earnings - as well as several service issues - took their toll.

Laziridis and Balsillie have been supported by the company’s independent directors in their commitment to develop a new OS for its products, based on the QNX platform which supports the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. The first generation of devices using BlackBerry 10 – previously known as BBX - aren’t scheduled to appear until the second half of 2012 at the earliest.