BlackBerry’s former CEO, Thorsten Heins, has become a subject of scrutiny once again. Presently, Heins is serving as the CEO of Powermat Technologies where three board members have claimed that Heins is running the company without an approved budget and thus is taking it towards insolvency, according to legal documents reviewed by CNET.
Heins accused of mismanagement
In its defense, Powermat said the claims are “deficient, biased, distorted and deceptive.” Heins, dismayed with the negative characterization of the work he did as Powermat’s CEO, said via an affidavit: “It is clear that the accusations the petitioners are making against me and my management team are baseless.”
What added to the drama is that the founder and former CEO of Powermat, Ran Poliakine, is among the board members leading the suit against the former BlackBerry CEO. Poliakine had to unwillingly step down from the CEO post in 2014 owing to pressure from investors. Then Heins was appointed CEO after completing 22 months as BlackBerry’s CEO.
Powermat makes public inductive wireless stations for mobile devices. It does not have a footprint in Canada, but its charging stations are gaining a foothold in the U.S., thanks largely to its series of partnerships with companies like Starbucks and General Motors. The tech could have grown much quickly, but the fact that some devices do not support wireless charging deterred its rate of growth. Apple’s iPhone, a very popular smartphone around the world, is one of them.
BlackBerry Priv now available at Walmart
Meanwhile, BlackBerry is working to push sales of its flagship Android phone further. The Canadian firm is now making the device available with certain retailers in the U.S. Earlier this week, the slider was appeared at the big box retailer Best Buy and Staples, an office supply chain.
Now the Priv is also available on Walmart’s online store. Buyers can either get the smartphone shipped to their home or pick it up from the nearest Walmart location. Walmart is selling the device at $699.99, which is the same price BlackBerry charges on its website.
Walmart is selling the same unlocked version being sold by the Canadian firm on its ShopBlackBerry website. The AT&T-branded Priv is the only other version of the phone available in the U.S.
