Updated: EMC UK boss defecting to Pure Storage
Long-standing UK managing director James Petter heading for the exit, EMC confirms
EMC's UK and Ireland managing director James Petter is leaving the company, the vendor has confirmed, with sources claiming he is heading to the firm's flash nemesis Pure Storage.
EMC told CRN in a statement that Petter "has decided to leave EMC" to pursue an opportunity elsewhere, but stopped short of naming the firm. CRN understands his new employer will be flash firm Pure Storage, where he will become its EMEA vice president next month.
Petter has been at EMC for 11 years, according to his LinkedIn page, after holding senior roles at the likes of Cisco and Telstra.
EMC and Pure Storage have been warring since the latter burst onto the scene back in 2013. Pure - which specialises in all-flash technology - said on its launch that it fires up its sales staff by encouraging them to eat into the storage giant's market share.
The duo are currently embroiled in a lawsuit, with EMC claiming one of its former staff defected to Pure and illegally took over confidential information.
Pure invaded EMC's partner conference in Las Vegas last year, holding briefing events for customers and advertising on billboards across the city. But the storage giant fought back at the gathering, offering customers a $1m (£590,000) jackpot if they could find a better-performing all-flash product than its own XtremIO offering.
Just last week, Pure Storage told CRN that EMC is only leading on its all-flash products to stop it getting there first.
EMC said in a statement: "James has decided to leave EMC and pursue an opportunity elsewhere. We wish him the best of luck for his future endeavours."
UPDATE: Since this story was first published, Pure Storage has confirmed Petter's move.
In a statement, it said: "In an effort to continue building momentum for the business in EMEA, Pure Storage has bolstered its leadership team [by hiring] James Petter as EMEA vice president.
"Petter joins Pure after over a decade at EMC. He will lead Pure Storage EMEA through its next phase of explosive business growth."