Mihal "Mike" Lazaridis (born March 14, 1961) is a Greek Canadian businessman, investor in quantum computing technologies, and co-founder of Research In Motion, which created and manufactured the BlackBerry wireless handheld device.

In 1984, Lazaridis responded to a request for proposal from General Motors (GM) to develop a network computer control display system.

On October 21, 1999, Lazaridis received an honorary doctor of engineering degree from the University of Waterloo, and in June 2003, he became its eighth chancellor.

He was listed on Maclean's Honour Roll as a distinguished Canadian in 2000 and named Canada's Nation Builder of the Year for 2002 by readers of The Globe and Mail newspaper.

[18] His nomination reads:Father of what has become known as the smartphone, Mike Lazaridis is recognized in the global wireless community as a visionary, innovator and engineer of extraordinary talent.

The Perimeter Institute has already become an international beacon for theoretical physics and IQC is widely regarded as the leading centre of quantum information science worldwide.

[2]Lazaridis received an Academy Award in 1999 for technical achievements relating to the creation of a high-speed barcode reader used in film editing.