Charles Becher
DNA XAbout Charles Becher
Charles “Chuck” Becher is Chief Commercial Officer and General Manager of North America at Sonim Technologies. He has served in this role since 2022 and became a named executive officer in 2023; he was 57 as of June 20, 2024 and holds a BBA from the University of Michigan School of Business . Sonim’s recent fundamentals show revenues fell from $93.63M in FY 2023 to $58.30M in FY 2024 while EBITDA turned negative, highlighting execution risk and the importance of commercial performance under Becher’s remit *.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inseego Corporation | SVP, Carrier Solutions | Apr 2022 – Aug 2022 | Led carrier-focused commercialization in mobile hotspots/fixed wireless devices |
| OnwardMobility | Chief Commercial Officer & EVP | Jun 2020 – Apr 2022 | Built go-to-market to relaunch BlackBerry devices; startup commercialization mandate |
| Sonim Technologies | Chief Sales & Marketing Officer | Dec 2016 – Jan 2020 | Led global sales and marketing for rugged devices |
| Kyocera Communications, Inc. | Progressively senior roles; SVP & GM Sales & Marketing | 2000 – 2016 | Ran sales/marketing for wireless OEM; scaling within carrier channels |
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | $400,000 | $400,000 |
| Annual Bonus Paid ($) | $275,000 | $345,144 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | — | — |
- Employment letter (Aug 23, 2022) provides guaranteed cash compensation of $400,000 per year (base + guaranteed minimum cash incentive) and eligibility for discretionary bonus .
Performance Compensation
| Incentive Type | Metric | Target / Opportunity | Actual/Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock Options (performance opportunity) | Revenue targets | 100,000 options per year over 4 years if revenue targets achieved (board-determined) | Not disclosed | Initial time-based grant vests 25% at 1-year anniversary of Aug 29, 2022; remaining in 16 equal quarterly installments |
| RSUs (retention) | Time-based (retention) | 70,671 RSUs granted Feb 6, 2025 | Time-based; no performance condition | Vests in two equal installments on the 90th and 180th day following grant date (contingent on continued employment) |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | As of | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficial Ownership (shares) | May 30, 2024 | 283,227; <1% of outstanding (46,717,887) |
| Beneficial Ownership (shares) | Sep 15, 2025 | 80,168; <1% of outstanding (17,781,919) |
| Anti-hedging/pledging | Policy | Hedging, pledging, margin accounts, short sales, and options trading in Sonim stock are prohibited for officers/directors/employees |
Outstanding equity (as of Dec 31, 2024):
| Grant Date | Exercisable (#) | Unexercisable (#) | Exercise Price ($) | Expiration | Vesting details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/18/2022 | 10,000 | 17,500 | 4.188 | 10/26/2032 | Vests in 11 equal quarterly installments from Feb 29, 2024 to Aug 29, 2026 |
Historical disclosure (as of Dec 31, 2023):
| Grant Date | Exercisable (#) | Unexercisable (#) | Exercise Price ($) | Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/18/2022 | — | 275,000 | 0.419 | 10/26/2032 |
Employment Terms
| Term | Provision |
|---|---|
| Employment status | At-will; Becher Letter Agreement references company policies and customary conditions |
| Base pay & incentive eligibility | $400,000 guaranteed cash compensation per year (base + guaranteed minimum incentive); discretionary bonus and variable compensation plan |
| Severance (non–change-in-control) | 6 months salary continuation and 6 months COBRA reimbursement upon termination without cause or resignation for good reason |
| Severance (change-in-control; double-trigger) | If terminated without cause or resigns for good reason up to 13 months post closing of change-in-control: 12 months salary continuation, 6 months COBRA reimbursement, and accelerated vesting of all unvested EIP awards that would have vested within 4 years of termination |
| Clawback | Company adopted a Rule 10D-1/Nasdaq-compliant clawback policy covering incentive compensation; recovery of erroneously awarded amounts upon covered restatements |
| Pension / Nonqualified deferred comp | NEOs did not participate in pension or nonqualified deferred compensation plans during 2024 |
| Non-compete / Non-solicit | Not disclosed |
Performance & Fundamentals Context
| Metric | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($) | $93,632,000 | $58,298,000 |
| EBITDA ($) | $2,453,000* | -$29,898,000* |
Values marked with * retrieved from S&P Global.
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment is mixed: Becher’s compensation is cash-heavy in 2023–2024, with sizable discretionary bonuses ($275k in 2023; $345k in 2024) and no new option grants disclosed in those years, while his letter provides a performance option opportunity tied to revenue targets, though specific performance metrics/weightings are not disclosed .
- Retention support and near-term supply: The Feb 6, 2025 RSU grant of 70,671 units vesting at day 90 and day 180 is explicitly retention-motivated and creates two potential near-term liquidity events that can increase insider selling pressure (subject to blackout windows and preclearance) .
- Alignment and risk controls: Beneficial ownership is <1% of outstanding; anti-hedging/pledging policy bans hedging, pledges, margin, and speculative option transactions, which reduces misalignment risk despite modest personal ownership .
- Economics under change-in-control: Double-trigger CIC protections (12 months salary continuation, 6 months COBRA, and accelerated vesting of awards vesting within four years) provide security but can increase turnover optionality if strategic outcomes diverge, while non-CIC severance is more modest (6 months salary + COBRA) .
- Execution backdrop: Company revenues declined materially from FY 2023 to FY 2024 and EBITDA turned negative, underscoring heightened commercial execution demands in Becher’s scope (carrier/channel sales) and elevating scrutiny on how variable compensation metrics drive outcomes *.
