Pure Storage swipes another EMC top dog

Jonathan Martin becomes chief marketing officer at fledgling flash firm

Pure Storage has pinched another EMC executive - this time, its chief marketing officer Jonathan Martin.

He will take on the same role at Pure Storage, which is a fierce competitor of his former employer.

Martin (pictured) took on the CMO position at EMC in March last year, when he was promoted from the role of senior vice president for marketing which he had held for three years. Prior to that, he held a number of marketing roles at HP and Salesforce.

It is not the first time an EMC exec has switched sides - as CRN exclusively revealed, the storage giant's UK managing director James Petter defected to Pure Storage in February.

Pure said Martin will lead its marketing strategy "through its next phase of natural growth". He will report directly to Pure president David Hatfield.

Pure's aggressive marketing strategy has gained it lots of attention since it burst onto the scene but Hatfield said raising awareness of the brand is a key priority for Martin.

"While we remain laser-focused on building the next great storage company, it is critical that we up-level our brand and broaden our awareness worldwide in order to capitalise on the market opportunity we have in front of us today," Hatfield said.

"Jonathan's vision, values and expertise complement our current team well and together, they will help propel us forward as Pure Storage reshapes the future of the enterprise data storage market."