[skelleytech]

I agree. Mike L and Jim B saw this coming just in time and bailed. That should have been the heads up everyone needed.

[Gnomesane]

Has zero to do with conspiracy theories or his compensation package.

Serious question, do you think he was the leader bbry needed to turn things around?

He's no Jobs. I think based on what we know so far, he did half of his job - restructuring - very well. And to be fair he inherited a mess.

Fail on marketing, the phones weren't priced competitively, he never should have promised BB10 for the PlayBook. He also isn't the salesman that Jobs was.

So in hindsight, someone with Heins mind for restructuring, but also someone with Jobs genius for reshaping perceptions and marketing.

If Prem truly wants to keep BlackBerry together maybe they're in better hands. Hope springs eternal, I guess.

[Gnomesane]

And no, if he goes I don't think he earned his $56m buyout. But if that is what was negotiated then it has to be honoured.

Posted via CB10

[Blacklatino]

If he gets $55 million for trashing the Blackberry name and running the company into the ground, then he's no victim. Heins has been with Blackberry since 2007 and has overseen a lot of the flops since then. What the company really should have done was to hire a complete outsider to turn the company around by keeping the strong bits and getting rid of the rest.

While he has been at the company and yes, he was definitetly there for the Storm, BlackBerries fall from grace didn't start with and/or won't end with him. The Z10 is still an awesome Smartphone, and marked a new beginning with BlackBerry-platform and handsets. Best "BlackBerry" I've ever owned(the exception is the battery life). Same with the original BOLD entered the 3G era(remembering the guy running track while texting/emailing). Unfortuantely, Thors assumed the role as CEO, walked into a situation left by others, and the rest will be in the history books. I don't know the guy and can't speak on what he could have done to make sales better. But, there are still ppl that don't know anything about BlackBerry.

[wjptam]

Not a victim, he took the job knowing where they were at in the marketplace.

He was the wrong man for the job. They needed a marketing visionary to lead BB10 into the consumer market. They hired a R&D program manager, who made BB10 as exciting in the minds of consumers as watching grass grow.

He has his golden parachute so he can't really be a victim of the Board's incompetence. Unfortunately all of BBs management team is his type so its no wonder their launch sucked.

[qwerty4ever]

Is it possible that he is also a victim of the mistakes made by the previous CEOs. I know most CB members are of the opinion that he is blame for the current position of BlackBerry.

Posted via CB10

Thorsten was given a clean slate yet he continued in the management style in which he partook as COO and CTO under the reign of Lazardis and Ballsille. We were fools for trusting him especially after his first speech when he proclaimed "all is well with Research In Motion".

[qwerty4ever]

He is a very bright engineer, and perhaps business is not his strength. I do feel for him. I can't imagine the stress he has been under in the last two years. I wouldn't want his job for all gold available.

Posted via CB10

Thorsten graduated with a degree in physics not engineering. Mike graduated with a degree in engineering.

[qwerty4ever]

What country do you call home?

It must be Egypt where he lives in the River of Denial.

[qwerty4ever]

In case any of you masterminds thought Thorstens $55M payout wasn't normal operating procedure for contracts of that nature.

• Stephen Elop picks up $25.2 million as he leaves Nokia for Microsoft | Windows Phone Central
• What

If Heins has any integrity he will decline the severance package of USD55 million and take the same severance package offered to those laid-off employees; at least that amount of compensation would be realistic.

[qwerty4ever]

Exactly, I'm sure the guy has been salivating over this looming "payday" - to the point....
...He wears a bib when in his office during the day and plastic wrapped his bed at home.
...No doubt he will struggle and suffer untold mental trauma depositing 55 million into his bank acct!

ROFLMAO

Stop making me laugh so loudly that the psychiatrist at the other end of the building came running to check whether I was experiencing another mental breakdown. Stop it!

[timberdc]

Really? You call The Storm, Storm 2 and PlayBook a "good job"?


Posted via CB10

Exactly my thoughts.

[semperfi45]

While he has been at the company and yes, he was definitetly there for the Storm, BlackBerries fall from grace didn't start with and/or won't end with him. The Z10 is still an awesome Smartphone, and marked a new beginning with BlackBerry-platform and handsets. Best "BlackBerry" I've ever owned(the exception is the battery life). Same with the original BOLD entered the 3G era(remembering the guy running track while texting/emailing). Unfortuantely, Thors assumed the role as CEO, walked into a situation left by others, and the rest will be in the history books. I don't know the guy and can't speak on what he could have done to make sales better. But, there are still ppl that don't know anything about BlackBerry.

I agree that the Z 10 is an outstanding device, however, the Q 10 should have been first and QNX should have delivered on time. The comedy of errors produced by this group will go down in history. It will be taught at ever University in the world how not to run a company. IMHO.

[ccan]

TH should be thrown in jail for stock manipulation and defrauding the shareholders. He has been the puppet master all along.

Posted via CB10

[transportin]

TH should be thrown in jail for stock manipulation and defrauding the shareholders. He has been the puppet master all along.

Posted via CB10

Really? You have some info that the rest of don't?

Posted via CB10

[bumpy510]

He's a ***** wrinkle

Posted via CB10

[bumpy510]

He's a ***** wrinkle

Posted via CB10

*****

Posted via CB10

[bintheredundat]

I can think of 55 million reasons he's not a victim. What a joke.

Posted via CB10 on my Z10 Oreo

[luisoman2000]

If anything thorstein was a victim of his short sightedness. canning sms 2.0 was a huge mistake, one that costed rim millions in profit. let's face it, if sms 2.0 (aka cross platform bbm) would have materialized a few years ago we would all be using it, even if we had to pay a fee. Bbm was hugely popular then and competition was still in diapers.

Sent from my LT28i using Tapatalk 2

[ray689]

What's wrong with instilling confidence. That's his job. A good leader is knowing when to retreat. He is doing that now.

Posted via CB10

Retreating now is the farthest thing from being a good leader. A good leader is one who leads when things are at their bleakest....when the team is down and you need to lead the big rally back.
A coward is one who retreats during the tough times.

Posted via CB10

[ukmight]

If Heins has any integrity he will decline the severance package of USD55 million and take the same severance package offered to those laid-off employees; at least that amount of compensation would be realistic.

A person's ultimate dream is personal success and not BlackBerry 's success. He has complete right over the money if he managed to negotiate that deal for severance. The mistake might have been of the board to hire him in the first place and agreeing to the severance package.


Posted via CB10

[ukmight]

Retreating now is the farthest thing from being a good leader. A good leader is one who leads when things are at their bleakest....when the team is down and you need to lead the big rally back.
A coward is one who retreats during the tough times.

Posted via CB10

It could also be incapability to lead at such a time.

Posted via CB10

[ray689]

It could also be incapability to lead at such a time.

Posted via CB10

All the more reason why he should not have taken the position....unless of course there was other reasons he took it?

Posted via CB10

[ukmight]

All the more reason why hour should not have taken the position....unless of course there was other reasons he took it?

Posted via CB10

Outside the BlackBerry community, he will probably be remembered for trying to resurrect BlackBerry which is not a bad profile to have and yes the "stupid" tablet statement that the media trashed him for. His stint as a C.E.O has only brought him into the limelight and with BlackBerry already headed for doom (as he has always maintained in all public appearances) , nothing that he could do would be the main factor in Blackberry's failure since it was already failing.
A chance survival of BlackBerry will put him in an elite league. It was an amazing opportunity for him.

Posted via CB10

[bintheredundat]

Outside the BlackBerry community, he will probably be remembered for trying to resurrect BlackBerry which is not a bad profile to have and yes the "stupid" tablet statement that the media trashed him for. His stint as a C.E.O has only brought him into the limelight and with BlackBerry already headed for doom (as he has always maintained in all public appearances) , nothing that he could do would be the main factor in Blackberry's failure since it was already failing.
A chance survival of BlackBerry will put him in an elite league. It was an amazing opportunity for him.

Posted via CB10

It's tough for me to decide how I feel about him. Nobody can argue he was given a daunting task but opinions of him and his accomplishments could go any which way.

Products:
-given a fresh os and brand. Delayed the launch. Subsequently failed the product launch. Hired Alicia Keys. Released the z before the q. Killed off the pb. Delayed and perhaps cancelled the release of bbm cross platform. Unsuccessful in attracting many top named apps for months.

All negatives really... not sure what he did that was smooth and successful product wise.

Business:
- let go of thousands of employees and many more to follow. In the process of considering selling off buildings that are owned free and clear and then perhaps leasing them back. This issue with corporate jets. Negotiating a beautiful golden parachute with a certain Mr watsa. Taking considerations for sale and favouring (I assume) the Fairfax deal. Stock value is pretty much where it was a year ago. How about using cash or clout to forge these business relationships - Rogers is a company he was doing photo opps with when the z launched, he should do what it takes to get the z30 stocked. That alone is a publicity and perception nightmare. Rogers has been by BlackBerry's side since the pager.

Imo he was given a brutal task, but he accepted it and I'm finding it difficult to determine what he's done successfully other than negotiate an awesome out clause for himself.


Posted via CB10 on my Z10 Oreo