1. Thorsten Heins was born on 29 December 1957 and is a German-Canadian businessman and the former chief executive officer of BlackBerry.
14 Facts About Thorsten Heins
1. 2.
Thorsten Heins stepped down as CEO of BlackBerry and was replaced by John Chen on November 4,2013.
3.
Thorsten Heins has a graduate diploma in science and physics from the University of Hannover.
4.
Thorsten Heins worked in several positions related to wireless technology including the chief technology officer of Siemens' communications division and several general management roles in hardware and software.
5.
Thorsten Heins rose through the ranks starting as senior vice president of BlackBerry's handheld unit; chief operating officer for product engineering, and finally chief operating officer for product and sales in July 2011.
6.
In January 2012, Thorsten Heins was named to succeed co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis as president and CEO.
7.
Thorsten Heins was responsible for BlackBerry's development of the BlackBerry 10 line of consumer and enterprise devices.
8.
In 2012, Thorsten Heins was named Cantech Letter's 2012 TSX Executive of the Year and ranked a year later as third on a list of the worst CEOs of 2013.
9.
Thorsten Heins was replaced by John Chen, a veteran Silicon Valley executive, during a November 2013 management shakeup and left the company with a $13.8 million severance.
10.
Thorsten Heins said to me, 'It's very appropriate for me to resign.
11.
Thorsten Heins found himself in the middle of a battle between two factions on Powermat's board.
12.
Thorsten Heins' resignation helped settle the lawsuits just mentioned and allowed for new investment from several important shareholders.
13.
Thorsten Heins had earlier threatened to leave due to what he called a hostile work environment.
14.
Thorsten Heins has a daughter and a son with his wife, Petra.