BlackBerry CEO Heins to net $55.6M if fired after acquisition
Thorsten Heins stands to make $55.6 million in salary, incentives, and equity if he is ousted from BlackBerry.
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins has little to lose if his company is eventually bought out.
BlackBerry recently released a proxy filing dating back to May in which the company outlined its handling of CEO Thorsten Heins in the event it's acquired and he's removed from his post. According to the filing, which was obtained by Bloomberg, Heins would make $55.6 million in salary, incentives, and equity if he's ousted from BlackBerry.
Heins will also be quite rich if BlackBerry shareholders don't give up ownership and decide to fire him -- he'll make $22 million in payments.
Although those compensation decisions were made months ago, they now loom large. BlackBerry announced earlier in August that it has appointed a Special Committee of the Board of Directors to evaluate "strategic alternatives" for the ailing company. One of those alternatives could be an acquisition. In that case, it's possible Heins could be ousted. Luckily for Heins, however, his $55.6 million windfall will help make that bite a bit easier to swallow.