IBM Sues to Keep Former Exec Out of Dell's Camp
IBM Sues to Keep Former Exec Out of Dell's Camp
Posted 05/29/2009 at 6:30am
| by Paul Lilly
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Former IBM mergers and acquisitions chief David Johnson finds himself on the potentially wrong end of a lawsuit seeking to prevent him from accepting employment with Dell. According to IBM, the new job would allegedly run afoul an agreement Johnson signed preventing him from working with rival companies.
"Mr. Johnson has possession of valuable confidential information and cannot undertake a senior strategy position at Dell without violating his obligations to IBM," said Edward Barbini, a spokesman for IBM. "Mr. Johnson repeatedly received significant compensation in exchange for agreeing to noncompete provisions."
For the last nine years, Johnson oversaw mergers and acquisitions and was privy to other strategic deals, according to the lawsuit. However, it remains unclear exactly what position Johnson was offered with Dell.
"Characterizations by others of his role are speculative," said David Frink, a spokesman for Dell. "Without exception, Dell respects the trade secrets and intellectual property of others."
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AntiHero
May 29, 2009 at 11:32am
Hey, at least he's the head of it...better than being the grunt. Those toilets need to be scrubbed strategically, so his job may get hectic on Mexican Food Friday's at the office.
I don't like Microsoft, I associate with it.
suckyn00b
May 29, 2009 at 8:26am
He's not stupid for signing that agreement, its pretty much a standard/required for any major company in any industry. The intent is to protect industrial trade secrets which are not patents nor do they have expiration dates. So there is no expiration date on a non-disclosure and non-compete agreement, because as a former employee you are never allowed to divulge the information you have to other companies
Its not that he's forbidden from working in the IT business, nor is he technically forbidden to work in Mergers and Aquisitions at Dell. They just have to be very careful (or even prove) that IBM's information is maintained as a secret. As the Dell representative stated, the job he is taking has not even been disclosed. If he's working in a totally different field from Mergers and Aquisitions then this is a non-issue.
Caboose
May 29, 2009 at 7:10am
It's still a violation of the nondisclosure agreement that he signed which is a legally binding document. I don't know if there's a timeframe that the document is valid for, but it basically states that he can't work for anyone that could take advantage of the knowledge he has of IBM's workings.
-= I don't want to be dead, I want to be alive! Or... a cowboy! =-
compro01
May 29, 2009 at 10:51am
Maybe legally binding. California ignores them completely except in very limited circumstances (sale of a business, dissolution of a partnership, and dissolution of a LLC, none of which apply here) and Virginia and Massachusetts enforce them quite narrowly.
"a contract is a contract is a contract" is legally nonsensical.
comptech08
May 29, 2009 at 7:18am
Well he is kinda screwed by signing that agreement. Still i think its stupid for a company to control where you work after your done working with them, but if the person signs a contract saying they can, there is nothing the guy can do afterwards.
Caboose
May 29, 2009 at 9:05am
Some people stop working for "Company A" for many reasons. being fired, layoffs, or just tired of the work. At times they can hold a grudge with the company, and if they were in a position that entitled them to some private or important info, another company may want that info. So to prevent the employee from selling trade secrets and revealing info that might not be for public consumption either at all or for a while, they are essentially threatened with legal action should they try and reveal those secrets. It's all to protect the company's interests.
If that makes no sense, I apologise, I'm exhausted. Being the only computer support admin (no, not ticket monkey) for the company i work with today is not easy...
-= I don't want to be dead, I want to be alive! Or... a cowboy! =-
I Jedi
May 29, 2009 at 7:29am
Obviously they have to have a timeframe of when he can work for another company without divulging any secrets that they may be keeping now that would bind him to the contract. Otherwise, why would anyone sign a damned contract that clearly stated that he could NEVER work for another company again in the IT industry that competes against IBM? But, people do the most silly things. :/
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