CX bought the rights from the the company that originally designed the seats. The seats have been very popular with other airlines that are contracted with the same designs notably Virgin , Air New Zealand, Jet Airways and Air Canada.

I would take the news you received as pure speculation and gossip. Whoever the person was would not have been in the firing line for complaints. It would have been the product development team... and they honestly could not care less about complaints of the past as they are committed to the 'new' Business Class seats.