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EMC management trio jump ship to competitors

Internal turmoil at tech titan

Three executives are leaving EMC, and that points to tensions inside the storage kingpin.

Isabelle Guis, a product marketing VP and head of cloud strategy at EMC, joins Egnyte in September to become its chief strategy officer. Egnyte is a file sync 'n sharer for enterprises, now saying it's involved in adaptive enterprise file services. As such it competed with EMC's Syncplicity business.

This was sold to Skyview Capital in July. Syncplicity's CEO in EMC days was Jeetu Patel. He moved to Box earlier this month to become an SVP and its chief strategy officer.

These two moves, when added to that of EMC's chief marketing officer Jonathan Martin, who went to a similar CMO spot at fierce EMC competitor Pure Storage in July, add up to... what exactly?

EMC is under severe pressure to re-organize its Federation as it tries to get the corporation valued more highly by investors. Such re-orgs can close doors for many executives while opening them for others.

But, anyway, execs come and execs go in the ceaseless industry greasy pole-climbing merry go-round, especially VPs who are two a penny compared to SVPs.

There is the obvious point that EMC sold Syncplicity and, it appears, Patel voted against that move with his feet; a special case in other words. But Guis and Martin? Pure probably paid a bucketload of cash and options to lure Martin across to its HQ. And that's in California, where employment contract non-competes are a no:no, so Hopkinton, MA could only gnash its teeth in private while Martin's career strategy rewards him.

Guis then; she hadn't any Syncplicity connection, which could help explain her move. Still, a move from being a 2-letter VP to a 3-letter CMO with associated pay and perquisites must have had its attractions. Three execs going in eleven months isn't a rush. Businesses that want the best recruit the best. Put it down to the usual everyday coming and going in exec racks. Move along please. There's nothing to see here. ®

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