Former Microsoft exec leaves Amazon to join Google, gets sued

guest · Jun 10, 2020

Former Microsoft exec leaves Amazon to join Google, gets sued
June 9, 2020
https://www.onmsft.com/news/former-microsoft-exec-leaves-amazon-to-join-google-gets-sued

Recently, former Microsoft executive Brian Hall left Amazon to work with Google Cloud, apparently in part due to concerns over Amazon’s stance on facial recognition technology. Since June 2018, Hall has worked as the vice president of product marketing for Amazon Web Services (AWS). As noted in a post by GeekWire, Hall is being sued by Amazon for violating his non-compete agreement by joining Google, one of Amazon’s biggest rivals.

Amazon cites an 18-month non-compete provision in Hall’s employment contract, asking the court to prevent Hall for working for Google in any cloud product marketing capacity during that time. The complete filing is available on Scribd, along with Hall’s response; Amazon v. Brian Hall – Comp… by Todd Bishop.
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In his response, Hall alleges that he received guidance from Ariel Kelman, former AWS vice president of worldwide marketing, that the non-compete provision was “unenforceable.”
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guest · Jun 10, 2020

Amazon asks court to block former AWS marketing VP from working on Google Cloud Next speeches
June 10, 2020
https://www.geekwire.com/2020/amazo...keting-vp-working-google-cloud-next-speeches/

Amazon is seeking a court order to keep Brian Hall, former Amazon Web Services vice president of product marketing, from editing and summarizing keynote speeches and slides for the upcoming Google Cloud Next conference in his new job with the rival cloud platform — saying the work “threatens immediate and irreparable harm to Amazon” due to his inside knowledge of its secret cloud plans.

New filings in King County Superior Court in Seattle this week include an extraordinary public statement by a high-ranking AWS executive about the competitive implications of Google’s annual cloud event.

“My team watches Google Cloud Next incredibly carefully as this conference has the potential to upstage our anticipated launches and interrupt our positive press for the next year,” says Matt Wood, AWS vice president of artificial intelligence, in a filing supporting Amazon’s motion.
“I am especially sensitive to the impact of Google Cloud Next given my previous work in product strategy and speech writing for AWS CEO Andy Jassy. I know first-hand how a CEO’s speech can have a real and concrete impact on the business due to a shift in perception and press coverage.”
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It’s unusual for Amazon to focus on a competitor in what is ultimately a public forum.
The non-compete dispute is also unusual because it involves a marketing leader, not an engineering executive with deep technical expertise.
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It’s the latest in a series of lawsuits filed by Amazon and others in Washington state to enforce non-compete clauses in employment contracts. The controversial agreements have essentially been banned in California, and Washington state last year enacted new provisions meant to limit their applicability.
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guest · Jul 19, 2020

Amazon settles lawsuit with former AWS marketing VP who joined Google Cloud
July 17, 2020
https://www.geekwire.com/2020/amazon-settles-lawsuit-former-aws-marketing-vp-joined-google-cloud/

Amazon has reached a confidential legal settlement with Brian Hall, a former Amazon Web Services vice president of product marketing who was sued by the company after taking a job with Google Cloud in alleged violation of the non-compete clause in his Amazon employment agreement.

Hall changed his title on his LinkedIn profile overnight, signaling that he has been cleared to work as vice president of product and industry marketing at Google Cloud.
While Amazon and other tech companies treat the provisions as a necessary safeguard, critics say they put the Seattle region’s tech industry at a disadvantage to California.

“Settlement terms are usually secret, so we are left with the question of whether AWS is changing its overly-broad non-compete terms and/or its arbitrary enforcement of non-competes,” said Charles Fitzgerald, a Seattle-area angel investor and veteran tech executive who was a vocal supporter of Hall’s case.
“At this point, all the uncertainty raised by the legal action against Brian Hall remains for anyone considering a job at AWS.”
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