Former BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins quit as chief executive officer of wireless charging company Powermat Technologies on Tuesday. Heins threatened to resign earlier also, claiming a hostile work environment, reported Bloomberg News, citing a person familiar with the matter in March.
Powermat still searching for a CEO
In a statement dated June 27, Israel-based Powermat confirmed Heins’ resignation, saying it will receive new funding from Hudson Clean Energy Partners and start searching for a new CEO. Michael Blumenthal, a managing partner at Grant Thornton, has been named as the new head of Powermat’s board while the wireless company is looking for a new CEO.
A legal filling shows that Heins found himself at the center of a battle for control of Powermat between different factions on the board. According to former CEO and founder Ran Poliakane, Heins was spending the company’s money without an approved budget. Investors, including Goldman Sachs and Hudson Clean Energy, supported Heins.
Poliakine filed a lawsuit against the wireless charging company accusing the firm of mismanagement. Poliakine, who was pushed out as CEO, said he is pleased that the agreement is completed. He said he is looking forward to watching the wireless charging company continue to build its strength and leadership position.
Heins steps down as chairman of board also
As former CEO of BlackBerry, Heins supervised the Canadian firm during an ill-fated push into touchscreen phones. Heins, who left BlackBerry in 2013, will relinquish his role as chairman of Powermat’s board of directors as well. The Israel-based wireless charging company thanked the ex-CEO for his efforts in advancing its leadership position in wireless charging. The wireless charging giant explained that Heins’ resignation is part of its larger plan to position itself for growth in the near term and realign all shareholders’ interest.
In a world still tied to plug-in charging cords, Powermat is fighting to position itself as the go-to standard for wireless charging. The wireless charging company is not alone in this race. Rivals like Qi are competing for placement in the latest smartphones, and Apple is also working on wireless tech.
First glimpse of BlackBerry Hamburg
In other BlackBerry-related news, we may have the first picture of the BlackBerry Hamburg. On Wednesday, Twitter user The Malignant posted a photoshopped picture, claiming it to be of a handset named the BlackBerry NEON. The user claimed that the body of the phone will be “partially” aluminum.
Earlier this week, there were rumors that BlackBerry is partnering with TCL to work on a device condemned Hamburg.
