posted on May 13, 15 08:45AMUse the IP Check tool[?]

I believe that, either Blevins is the new CEO, or POET has a significant and established relationship with Apple, or both. The release last night gave me cause to re-read some of the prior filings. One that caught my eye again was March 30 announcement of BAE relationship, the TRAB creation, and options grants to Daniel D. One of these items really does not ordinarily fit the profile of a material change.

Consider:

1) POET announces a new advisory board , consisting of Taylor, Manocha and Tony Blevins, no bio, no edification, nothing else. Why is this a material event? Advisory boards function within the general parameters of operating a developmental company, no reason to flag this. But what if the generic addition of Blevins to the company in some nominal capacity allows him to function as defacto CEO for several weeks/months, without distractions of public/media intrusion, get up to speed and be actively involved in all negotiations? If not because he is the defacto CEO, then why bother announcing a newly created advisory board at all, specifying his membership? And deliberately leaving out his affiliation with Apple? Its simple, you announce it only because you are required to do so, otherwise, you can bury his involvement in a 'contracted consultancy' role. They could not bury this if he was going to be actively involved in making decisions versus recommending actions. Can anyone provide another logical explanation for this deliberately obtuse action and even more vague announcement? It's the only plausible explanation I can come up with.

2) How beneficial would the placement of an Apple exec in the CEO position of a company that is about to deliver the the greatest advancement in chip power, speed and multi-functionality be to Apple, it possibly gets first crack at the tech, but can also ensure supply chain for decades? The fact is, he is already geographically right there, and can easily transition into the new role.

3) Deshmukh hired--No chance this gets done without new CEO approval. None.

Of course this is all circumstantial. But can anyone confirm anything TB has done since his TRAB announcement? His location is a perfect cover to begin the transition quietly.

There are these other possibilities:

1) Even if Blevins is not the CEO to be, Apple allowing him to be on advisory board is a clear indication of an established and significant relationship with POET. One that no doubt involves some level of exclusivity in exchange for $$ and likely a piece of the business.

or, for the pessimists and doubters,

2) There is a major problem with their milestones' completion, lab to fab, resulting in a significant delay. If you believe this, then explain why two new board members, Blevins and Deshmukh would still stick their necks out and join an unproven technology company even in a limited capacity. No doubt they would wait until such issues were resolved before committing.

I was skeptical of someone of Blevins caliber taking the CEO position until an active VP from a $25 billion company decided to become COO for a company with 1/75th of the market cap of his current employer. That sets the bar for a new CEO very high. Now it becomes apparent that the new CEO has to be coming from an even bigger stage. And Apple is one of the biggest stages in the world.

So if I am wrong about the CEO, at the very least, POET still has a significant relationship with Apple that entails Blevins being on a POET advisory board. How huge is that? And if I am right, how will the U.S. Markets react to an Apple exec leaving to become CEO of a heretofore unknown tech company? How much buzz will that create in Silicon Valley, in the investment community and in the tech world?

Lots of ammo in the arsenal, just a question of which weapons they chose to deploy, and when