Heins is clear on RIM's goal: "We are here to win. I'm not here to just be in the game. The whole team wants to win and the whole team deserves to win."
It's a bold statement, but the way Heins delivered it, with his measured explanation of the BB10 target, makes you believe in the company and its fortunes going forward.
Unflappable to end
Confirmation of my confidence in Heins' ability to get RIM winning again occurred while I was having a quiet evening beer on the hotel terrace.
Heins appeared with his son, taking a leisurely stroll round the grounds when they were interrupted by a disgruntled developer who unleashed a rude and aggressive verbal attack towards the RIM CEO.
It wasn't clear what had ground this developer's gears, but the way in which he voiced his problems would have certainly infuriated the majority of people.
Heins reaction however was commendable, staying calm and polite, managing to diffuse the situation before continuing the walk with his son.
It's genuinely pleasing to see a CEO in a truly human light. All he wanted to do was enjoy the evening with his son. There was no pretentious entourage, being whisked away to exclusive venues or any looking down on others.
Hold yer horses
Let's not great carried away though. Heins' task is huge, as the dominance of Apple, Google, Samsung, HTC and co. in the mobile market is going to be a tough nut to crack for a firm which has struggled in the past couple of years.
While I don't question whether Heins is the man for RIM, I do question the achievability of RIM becoming the top mobile company.
It's not going to be easy to claw back sales and re-ignite interest in an audience which has started to view the BlackBerry brand in a slightly negative light – with RIM partly, but not solely, to blame, as the media has added insult to injury in recent times.
So RIM has a difficult year ahead of it, with no guarantee it will pull through, but in Thorsten Heins at least it has the right person at the top to make that dream a possible reality.
