Blackberry co-founder Jim Balsillie has officially jumped ship. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing released yesterday, Balsillie—who was also co-CEO of Research in Motion until January 2012—sold his 5.1 percent stake in the corporation sometime prior to Dec. 31, a strong indication he lost all faith the company could rebound from its plummeting market price.

Balsillie was originally known for helping Research in Motion Ltd. grow from a small Waterloo startup into Canada’s most famous tech company, but was pressured to resign last year as Blackberry struggled to compete with Apple’s iPhone and the plethora of handsets running Google’s Android OS. He joined the company’s board of directors but resigned from that position within a couple of months after clashing with other company leadership on ways to improve the company’s marketing strategy.

Under new CEO Thorsten Heins, RIM—now rebranded Blackberry—has seen its stock rebound in recent months as anticipation of its new Blackberry 10 OS increased. Blackberry claims sales of its Blackberry Z10 smartphone have been strong in the UK and it plans to launch the device in the US next month. Balsillie will soon know if his decision to sell was a wise one.

[Image via Scott Prokop/Shutterstock]

Samantha Lile

Samantha Lile is a 2002 Missouri State University graduate of journalism and mass media. She has served as a reporter and editor for various newspapers throughout her journalism career. She made the leap into writing full-time after working for a major financial institution since 2000.

Because of her banking background, Samantha is knowledgeable in finance reporting, but is also strong in commentaries, personal profiles, youth studies, horticulture, history and entertainment-related works.

Samantha lives in Ozark, Mo. with her husband of nine years, four dogs and two cats.

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