Dell Snags Former IBM Executive; Lawsuit Filed

PC vendor Dell (News - Alert) has reportedly lured a top IBM veteran away from the company, indicating a possible changing in its corporate strategy.

 

Dell confirmed it offered a job to David L. Johnson, vice president of corporate development at IBM (News - Alert). But IBM is attempting to block the move, and has filed a lawsuit against the former executive, according to the Forbes.com report.

The lawsuit, filed on May 21 against Johnson in the U.S. District Court for Southern New York, asserts that Johnson violated a non-compete agreement. Johnson has spent nearly 10 years overseeing deals at IBM, including mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, Forbes said.

 

"Mr. Johnson has possession of valuable confidential information and cannot undertake a senior strategy position at Dell without violating his obligations to IBM," an IBM spokesperson told Bloomberg News. Johnson received "significant compensation" by agreeing not to work for competitors, IBM said.

 

Dell declined to say what role Johnson would fill at the company, news reports said.

 

The hiring of Johnson from IBM by Dell may indicate that the company is preparing to undertake more acquisitions of its own, according to Forbes. Dell has remained quiet while its competitors have largely been defined by big deals, the report said. Dell has made 10 acquisitions since 1999, according to Information Week. IBM made 14 in 2008 alone.

 

Dell’s largest deal so far came in January 2008 when it bought storage vendor EqualLogic for $1.4 billion, TMC (News - Alert) reported.

 

This is the second time in less than a year that IBM has filed a lawsuit to prevent a former employee from joining a competitor, CNET reports. Last year, IBM sued Mark Papermaster to prevent him from joining Apple (News - Alert), according to the report. The lawsuit contended that Papermaster could divulge trade secrets, a violation of his agreement with IBM.

 

Papermaster and IBM later settled the matter, the report said.