BlackBerry CEO could earn up to $56.5 million if fired, filing reveals

[Shawn Knight]

Either way you slice it, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins stands to be a wealthy man should he get fired before or after a potential buyout. A recent proxy filing by BlackBerry dating back to May outlines how the situation would be handled in either event.

Should BlackBerry ultimately be acquired by another company and the CEO is let go, he will be sent packing with $55.6 million from a combination of salary, incentives and equity. If shareholders decide at some point down the road not to sell yet want new leadership, the outgoing going chief would collect $22 million in payments.

Those figures were based on BlackBerry’s stock price at the end of the fiscal fourth quarter. We’re told the plan was approved by shareholders during an annual meeting on July 9.

Decisions involving Heins were made months ago but they’re now more pressing than ever. That’s because just a few days ago the company announced they have formed a special committee to examine strategic alternatives.

The five-person committee which happens to include Heins will be tasked with reviewing possible joint ventures, partnerships, going private or selling the company outright to the highest bidder. What’s interesting is the fact that Toronto businessman and BlackBerry’s largest shareholder, Prem Watsa, is stepping down from the board. Could he be destined for a larger role at the company in the near future?

Share value in BlackBerry jumped nearly 20 percent since the announcement on Monday. The stock has dropped nearly four percent today, however, currently sitting at $10.54 per share.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/53660-blackberry-ceo-could-earn-up-to-565-million-if-fired-filing-reveals.html

 

[domyz]

That poor guy he deserves it.

 

[Rasta211]

Now he's a businessmen. He's getting paid no matter what!

 

[Guest]

We need to be telling our children to grow up to be CEOs. This guy worked for RIM for 6 years, only 1.5 years as CEO. He hasn't been able to turn the company around and his reward is tens of millions of dollars.... Wish I had a job like that.

And this happens again and again at many large companies.

 

[psycros]

This is what's wrong with big companies today - the guys at the top get their fat payday even if they fail miserably. And so what happens? They burn one company to the ground and somehow get another top spot where they can do it again. When you make 3-4 year's worth of money for crashing the boat and can then jump ship to repeat the performance, why *not* steer them all into the rocks? Ridiculous.

 

[Guest]

For every one ceo making tens of millions there are thousands making just enough to get by, when will these worker ants wake up ? By the time workers wake up and realize how bad therebeing exploited robots will be doing virtually all the work for free.

 

[Ranger12]

This is what's wrong with big companies today - the guys at the top get their fat payday even if they fail miserably. And so what happens? They burn one company to the ground and somehow get another top spot where they can do it again. When you make 3-4 year's worth of money for crashing the boat and can then jump ship to repeat the performance, why *not* steer them all into the rocks? Ridiculous.

I doubt he could repeat the performance. Getting fired doesn't look good on your resume. He could still do just fine though. We always whine and moan about ceo's getting paid millions but how are they so different from athletes? Derrick Rose will be making 34 million a year for at least the next 5-10 years and yet the bulls haven't won a championship since '98. I could go on with examples of athletes who get paid millions and don't win but it would be pointless. All that nonsense to say, you don't have to win to be worth millions and that includes business people. Should it be that way? I don't know, maybe not.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

This is what's wrong with big companies today - the guys at the top get their fat payday even if they fail miserably. And so what happens? They burn one company to the ground and somehow get another top spot where they can do it again. When you make 3-4 year's worth of money for crashing the boat and can then jump ship to repeat the performance, why *not* steer them all into the rocks? Ridiculous.

You really think he wasn't trying? Or do you think maybe selling a smartphone in a market where Samsung and Apple have patented every conceivable technology and are selling their products by the tens of millions just might be a bit tough? Microsoft is having enough trouble selling phones without a full app store and they have far more resources than BB.

Heins base salary is only $3 million, that means the rest of that is probably coming from stock he owns. Stock which would be worth millions more if he had done a better job. And that also means he may lose a lot of that $55 million if the stock price goes down further.

 

[cliffordcooley]

You really think he wasn't trying?

That is irrelevant! The true question is whether he earned it. And no, I do not think he earned it. I don't believe it is possible in one transaction, for anyone to earn more than the average person earns their entire life. At some point it becomes greed, theft, anything but earnings.

Heins base salary is only $3 million, that means the rest of that is probably coming from stock he owns. Stock which would be worth millions more if he had done a better job. And that also means he may lose a lot of that $55 million if the stock price goes down further.

If that is the case and the stock price do go down, don't expect me to feel sorry for him. Thats 1000 times more than the average make an entire year, and when they have to bounce between jobs they get nothing in between. I could understand 10 or may be even 50 times more than what the average make in a year. 1000 times more than the average, comes out to over ten times the average life span. That means there are 10 people that will never see this amount of money, their entire combined lives. And if you ask me, $55 million is at least 20 times more than anyone personally deserves period.

And as far as the stock market goes, we all know that is legalized theft with the sole purpose of making a rich man richer. And if you look at the opposite end of the stick, a poor man poorer. And this fine example is just a drop in the ocean of examples, in how the system is being exploited.

 

[Ranger12]

And as far as the stock market goes, we all know that is legalized theft with the sole purpose of making a rich man richer. And if you look at the opposite end of the stick, a poor man poorer. And this fine example is just a drop in the ocean of examples, in how the system is being exploited.

Well, We don't all know. Please inform me how it is legalized theft, so I can know. I'd also like to know why we only target businessmen. As far as I know businessmen put there money to much better use than many athletes and celebrities who earn multi-millions of dollars.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Well, We don't all know.

Correction, I was hoping there wasn't anyone blind by choice. If you can not see how, then there really is nothing anyone can say to convince you. The stock market is nothing more than a massive group of people inflating prices or everything being sold. We as a whole would be better off, without this stock market. And you must be one of the people that has grown accustom to all the lies, stating we can't survive without it. Sure I will agree we need a market, but we don't need the greedy bastards stealing every penny they can get their hands on.

 

[davislane1]

If you can not see how, then there really is nothing anyone can say to convince you.

So, basically, you don't have any evidence to support your position other than a lone truism?

The stock market is nothing more than a massive group of people inflating prices or everything being sold.

Are we talking about the stock market here or commodity markets? Last I checked, the price of AAPL or MSFT had no calculable impact on the prices of bread or milk. Or how much Verizon charges for my mobile plan.

We as a whole would be better off, without this stock market. And you must be one of the people that has grown accustom to all the lies, stating we can't survive without it.

The world will certainly go on without the stock market. It will also go on without automobiles, supermarkets, aircraft, cargo ships and the Internet. The beneficial effects of said absences, however, won't outweigh the costs incurred by the resultant loss of efficiency. Equity markets are no different. They are used to allocate capital; no more, no less. Get rid of them and you simply make it a little more difficult for up and coming businesses to acquire funding while dealing a blow to anyone who derives income from capital gains or stock dividends. But I suppose that's an insignificant cost to stop the less than 1% of people who make a killing in these markets from amassing obscene wealth. Because fairness.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Last I checked, the price of AAPL or MSFT had no calculable impact on the prices of bread or milk. Or how much Verizon charges for my mobile plan.

Everything is so intertwined, there is no way one will not impact the other. Bread, milk, mobile phones are all brought to you by resources that are impacted by stock market. There is nothing insignificant enough, where stock market has no impact.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

If that is the case and the stock price do go down, don't expect me to feel sorry for him. Thats 1000 times more than the average make an entire year, and when they have to bounce between jobs they get nothing in between. I could understand 10 or may be even 50 times more than what the average make in a year. 1000 times more than the average, comes out to over ten times the average life span. That means there are 10 people that will never see this amount of money, their entire combined lives. And if you ask me, $55 million is at least 20 times more than anyone personally deserves period.
.

So ask yourself why does Alex Rodriguez make $55,000 every time he comes up to the plate to hit, while the average school teacher is lucky to make that in a whole year? Isn't someone who invests a years worth of time into preparing our children for the future worth more than a few pitches to a baseball player?

The reason is because A-Rod helps the Yankees make a ton of money, while kids don't run out and make millions for the school as soon as they finish 4th grade. It's a formula based on supply, demand, and money earned. There's only one A-Rod, there are very few CEOs, but there are thousands and thousands of teachers.

So to sum it up, 'deserve' has nothing to do with it.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

Everything is so intertwined, there is no way one will not impact the other. Bread, milk, mobile phones are all brought to you by resources that are impacted by stock market. There is nothing insignificant enough, where stock market has no impact.

If the stock market were connected to other things we should see evidence of it. RIght now the stock market is near an all-time high. (Last week it WAS an all time high). But unemployment is still high, there's no increase in inflation and home prices still haven't recovered. At the same time stocks were up, employees making minimum wage were walking out of fast food joints to protest low wages.

The stock market is more of an indicator of faith in the future of the economy than it is of actual wealth.

 

[cliffordcooley]

So ask yourself why does Alex Rodriguez make $55,000 every time he comes up to the plate to hit, while the average school teacher is lucky to make that in a whole year?

Believe me when I say, I'm not contributing to his fortune (not voluntarily anyway). Another prime example of vote with your wallet failure.

So to sum it up, 'deserve' has nothing to do with it.

You are absolutely correct, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't. And deep down it only proves, we as a whole have our priorities screwed up.

 

[davislane1]

Everything is so intertwined, there is no way one will not impact the other. Bread, milk, mobile phones are all brought to you by resources that are impacted by stock market. There is nothing insignificant enough, where stock market has no impact.

Converting H20 from a liquid into a gas also changes the material composition of the universe. Though, I somewhat doubt anyone currently residing in the Sombrero Galaxy is worriedly contemplating the implications of my boiling a pot of water.

That markets have relationships to one another is still little more than an economic truism that does not demonstrate how the world would be a better place if we abolished the stock market. What's the economic benefit of having no stock market? How are average consumer prices and price stability influenced by the valuation of individual stocks and broad indexes? If FB trades at $500 and S&P futures drop to 1400 tomorrow morning, how will this impact housing inventories and the price of wheat for the next 6 months? If you can answer any of these questions while demonstrating more than an infinitesimal average relationship between the price of "everything" and the stock market, it would go a long way to validating your position, as, thus far, you've offered little more than empty rhetoric.

 

[Guest]

Getting rewarded for making a mess of things - what happened to just getting fired plain and simple ?

 

[Guest]

He deserves every cent of that, ask google and apple.