Well, maybe they should have done more to keep Smith at IBM?
I'd imagine as a very senior manager he was handsomely rewarded, far more so than the poor cannon fodder that Ginny keeps firing. And for once, I think I'm with IBM (first time ever!) in that long "non-compete" clauses are part of the game for senior executives. If he wanted the salary, perks and the power, then he chose to sign up and play by their rules.
Complaining after the event that he doesn't think the rules should apply to him is just pathetic - if he didn't want to comply, he shouldn't have taken the role with IBM, or he should have chosen more wisely for his next career move.
The big question is this, though: What skills would somebody senior from the struggling, screwed up mess that is IBM be able to bring to AWS? AWS virtually wrote the manual on cloud, and its a shame that they aren't competent to train and develop their own talent. Moreover, anybody promising who has just been passed over will likely move on in a game of musical chairs, and AWS will have the instability from bringing in somebody that the remaining AWS staffers have zero confidence or trust in. Looking at IBM's performance, they're probably right.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
