Ex-BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins Tapped to Run Wireless Charging Firm Powermat

Former BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins has been hired as the new CEO for wireless charging company Powermat Technologies.

Powermat is the driving force behind the Power Matters Alliance, one of several competing wireless charging standards.

Heins, who took over BlackBerry from its co-founders, was replaced late last year as head of BlackBerry by its current chief, John Chen.

But Powermat says it believes it has found the right leader in Heins.

“Thorsten possesses the rare combination of deep technological and industry expertise with true leadership ability,” company founder and outgoing CEO Ran Poliakine said in a statement. “Powermat is poised at an important juncture in its evolution and Thorsten will lead its expansion to take the wireless charging solutions we created into the mainstream. I look forward to working closely with Thorsten as Powermat advances toward a bright future.”

Heins’s appointment comes as Powermat is about to enter its biggest deployment to date as the provider of wireless charging gear to Starbucks. Starbucks is looking to install 100,000 charging spots within its U.S. stores as part of a nationwide rollout that is beginning in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The move follows an earlier test run with Powermat’s technology.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Will you join us?

Our biggest supporters are our readers — and we’re so grateful to everyone who has made a contribution during our September campaign. We’re less than 1,000 contributions away from reaching our goal for the month, which in turn will allow us to say yes more often when our incredible journalists come to us with questions they want to answer and projects they want to pursue. Will you make a contribution before the month ends and support our policy coverage through 2024 and beyond?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via