An early version of the Powermat wireless charging mat demonstration is seen during the opening event of the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada January 6, 2009.Rick Wilking/Reuters
Former BlackBerry Ltd. leader Thorsten Heins has joined an emerging technology company that he believes can change the way people use their smartphones.
Mr. Heins, 56, is stepping in as chief executive and chairman at Neve Ilan, Israel–based Powermat Technologies Ltd., maker of flat pads that can wirelessly recharge the batteries in smartphones and other devices.
The company has partnerships with companies such as Delta Airlines, General Motors and Starbucks and wants to align itself with more well-known brands. But it needs to forge more alliances – and fast.
"We need more of these high calibre partners in the market that will just contribute to penetrating the market," said Mr. Heins, in an interview. "I think frankly the biggest challenge is to really scale this thing up quickly."
Mr. Heins, who left BlackBerry amid a leadership and financing shakeup one year ago, said he was drawn in by the chance to build a global charging network that would increase the freedom that handheld devices have allowed consumers.
"When wireless went mainstream people lots of people got freed from the cord of the phone," Mr. Heins said in an interview. "You still have to charge these devices from power outlets in the walls, so we haven't really freed the people to charge their devices whenever they want."
Powermat, which has been looking for a new chief executive for months, began talking to Mr. Heins shortly after he left BlackBerry close to a year ago. The company's founder and outgoing CEO Ran Poliakine said that Powermat is at an "important juncture" as it tries to take its technology mainstream, forging deals with more retailers and other groups.
"Now is the time to scale, and Thorsten Heins brings huge amounts of credibility and capability to move from millions to billions," said Mr. Poliakine, who will stay on as vice-chairman.
Powermat's quest for wireless revolution hasn't been without hiccups. One conflict with an investor led to a request for information and auditing to be filed in a Tel Aviv court.
But Mr. Heins said such issues are largely behind Powermat and they didn't stand in the way of his involvement in the business. "The board voted unanimously on various resolutions, one of which is my appointment as chairman and CEO," he said.
And there's no shortage of cash required for the company to grow, Mr. Heins said, adding that the company is well financed. While he didn't rule out an initial public offering, the first step will be for the company to reach more people with its technology.
"I would say that Powermat is not right in the start-up stage any more," he said. "Whatever is the right strategy is going forward from a financial perspective we will see, but at the moment the focus is really on seizing the opportunity and growing the company."
Powermat now has 100 employees and is moving a lot of key functions to its offices in New York and Santa Clara, Calif., to be closer to its key North American market. Mr. Heins said a Canadian expansion could be in the cards.
"I don't want to open too many offices at the very same time, but we want to be breaking through in North America and Canada is certainly one of the really important markets for us as well," Mr. Heins said. For now, Mr. Heins will remain based in the Waterloo Ont., with his family.