Michael Barnstijn

Michael Barnstijn has had a successful career as a software engineer and business partner. He shares his notoriety with the founders of the Canadian company Research in Motion, creators of one the best-known wireless devices, the BlackBerry.

Today, Barnstijn is devoting his retirement years to volunteer work and serves as a member of the board of directors for the Musagetes Foundation, an initiative that serves as a catalyst for ideas and actions to make culture and the arts more present in people's day-to-day lives.
He and his wife, Louise, are actively involved in a number of charitable organizations in their local community of Kitchener-Waterloo, and have financially supported many other national initiatives. They are both passionate for the arts and are active supporters of artists and arts organizations as patrons.