Ch-ch-changes… Bizarre photo of former Powa Technologies boss Dan Wagner dressed up as David Bowie causes a stir
There have been a lot of ch-ch-changes at Powa Technologies recently (sorry…) – the one-time tech darling, which had a valuation of more than $2.5bn, has fallen into administration and is now in the capable hands of Deloitte.
Did its former boss Dan Wagner see the collapse coming, just weeks before it emerged? If so, he was in an incredibly relaxed mood. It seems that on 12 January, as the world came to terms with the death of David Bowie, the colourful Wagner emailed all his staff with a somewhat bizarre picture of himself dressed up as the legendary pop icon.
Former Powa employee-turned management consultant Steven Prowse shared a picture on social media showing Wagner in shiny gold flares, striking his best air guitar pose and pouting in a Bowie tribute that was sent to Powa's entire workforce, one month before the firm went into administration and 75 per cent of UK jobs came under fire.
Back in February the Financial Times reported that Powa had missed payments to employees and suppliers in recent months. At the time, though, it said it was negotiating fresh funding, adding "the outlook for our business remains positive".
In a video seen by the FT, Dan Wagner, the company's founder, told staff it was “hopefully well-funded” for 2016 but added: “I can’t commit to that."
Wagner, who was ousted from Powa Technologies Group's board shortly after the firm appointed Deloitte to oversee the administration, signed his email off saying: "I don't do tributes in half measures".
Fortunately for staff, administrators Deloitte recently said 69 jobs have been saved after it sold off the tech firm's PowaTag and PowaWeb businesses.
Powa employees confirmed that they were sent the photo by Wagner as part of the all-office note.
City A.M. has reached out to Wagner for comment and awaits a response. It could be a while though; he's Under Pressure.