Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2002/10/23/lotus_chief_worked_not_fibbed/

Lotus chief worked, not fibbed, self out of job

So that's cleared up then...

By John Lettice

Posted in Software, 23rd October 2002 09:53 GMT

"Former Lotus CEO speaks candidly about job shift," says the tantalising Computerworld headline and, given the colourful circumstances which preceded Jeff Papows' departure from Lotus in early 2000, how could anyone resist?

Regrettably, Jeff's 'candid' interview makes no mention of the sexual harrassment charges or the grisly exposure of his highly imaginative tales of his hard upbringing and heroic exploits as a Marine Corps top gun. He does lay something on the line, but it's er, "I basically worked myself out of a job. I mean, at that point Lotus had 60% of the market share." So it was great when he was there, and anything that's happened since obviously can't be his fault. Nor can his departure have had anything to do with IBM bringing Lotus into the fold, clipping exec wings as it did so, or with any silly stories about what Jeff claimed he did with hand grenades.

But they were jolly funny stories, and well worth repeating: "So he's not an orphan, his parents are alive and well. He wasn't a Marine Corps captain, he was a lieutenant. He didn't save a buddy by throwing a live grenade out of a trench. He didn't burst an eardrum when ejecting from a Phantom F4, which didn't crash, not killing his co-pilot. He's not a tae kwon do black belt, and he doesn't have a PhD from Pepperdine University" (The Register April 1999.

Jeff of course didn't remember saying any of that stuff, but for your entertainment you can find more things he didn't remember here and here. ®