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Amazon sues former AWS marketing VP Brian Hall after he takes Google Cloud job

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Re: Amazon sues former AWS marketing VP Brian Hall after he takes Google Cloud job

#51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I appreciate that you took time to collect the tweets. I certainly found them interesting and wouldn't have found them on my own. Definitely add a disclaimer next time, though.

Thank you; I will. I won't post to something I own without marking it as something I own in the future.

All good my friend, it's just a message board on the internet :)

Re: Amazon sues former AWS marketing VP Brian Hall after he takes Google Cloud job

#53
post #37

You know you're cool when you need a lawyer to change jobs. I think it would be reasonable to allow non-competes, however, the company should have to keep paying you your full compensation (salary, stock, bonuses, etc) for as long as they keep you from being employed. Sure, give the old employer veto power for a new job as long as they keep paying them for the lockout period.

This is a good call. Or (at a minimum) some agreed upon fraction of salary.

Re: Amazon sues former AWS marketing VP Brian Hall after he takes Google Cloud job

#54

There is a chance that some people with a history worth sharing might not be, and never be, in a position to talk. I personally think that non-compete agreements are a strange beast. On one side, you want to avoid people "switching sides" and bring important secrets with them, possibly the reason why they've been hired by a competitor. On the other side, you want a competitive job market, so that people would get the…

Sales and Marketing non-competes aren't about taking company secrets with them, so much as they are about taking business relationships with them.

Re: Amazon sues former AWS marketing VP Brian Hall after he takes Google Cloud job

#55
post #45
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i don't think that matters. what matters is the jurisdiction where he works now. california doesn't want its employed population to be limited by noncompetes. they certainly won't be interested in honoring noncompetes from elsewhere.

Virtually all contracts will specify a jurisdiction for any disputes. In the case of employment contracts it's almost always where the company is registered. Moving to California likely doesn't help at all.

What if you’re not violating the non-compete in a jurisdiction where the contract is enforceable, like by moving to California?

Re: Amazon sues former AWS marketing VP Brian Hall after he takes Google Cloud job

#56
post #53
post #37

You know you're cool when you need a lawyer to change jobs. I think it would be reasonable to allow non-competes, however, the company should have to keep paying you your full compensation (salary, stock, bonuses, etc) for as long as they keep you from being employed. Sure, give the old employer veto power for a new job as long as they keep paying them for the lockout period.

This is a good call. Or (at a minimum) some agreed upon fraction of salary.

Can’t be a fraction. Full comp. That’s what you were worth to them, that’s what you’re worth to not go somewhere else.

Re: Amazon sues former AWS marketing VP Brian Hall after he takes Google Cloud job

#57
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> bring important secrets with them BS. That's what NDAs are for.

An NDA is practically unenforceable in this situation, which is the entire point a noncompete is a thing. Who is going to snitch on them for revealing AWS secrets to Google and violating the NDA? Another Google exec?

> An NDA is practically unenforceable in this situation

As we shall see, the non-compete is also unenforceable in this situation, it just costs more to show that it's not. Non-competes are for the "small" people.

The bigger question is, why are you carrying water for them? Enforceability of this BS is not in your interest unless you're a major shareholder, and even then non-competes are ethically dubious at best. If what's in his head is so valuable (which I'm almost certain it's not), Amazon should offer to pay him his previous comp for the duration of his non-compete, at the very least, so that he sits it out for a year. What are his options? To not ever work anywhere else again? To radically switch careers upon departure?

Re: Amazon sues former AWS marketing VP Brian Hall after he takes Google Cloud job

#58

This makes me think Amazon it starting to worry a bit more about Google Cloud. Have they been gaining a lot on Amazon recently?

I feel the same way. I know that GCP has lured me away from AWS, though I would like to say that has been due to a more simple model for managing resources and exposing documentation, and not much marketing.

Re: Amazon sues former AWS marketing VP Brian Hall after he takes Google Cloud job

#60
Noncompetes writ large are terrible policy. However, I do think at a given level of seniority/responsibility, they’re reasonable, subject to the usual limitations of time and place. He worked for AWS for ~18 months and then shopped himself to a direct competitor.
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