Motorola is suing a former executive for allegedly violating a non-compete agreement by taking a job as head of global iPhone sales for Apple and helping Apple hire two other former Motorola employees.
The suit, which alleges breach of contract and threatened misappropriation of trade secrets, was filed last week against Mike Fenger in an Illinois circuit court in Cook County. Fenger quit Motorola in March as senior vice president of mobile devices for Europe, Middle East and Africa to join Apple.
The suit alleges that Fenger agreed when he received stock options to refrain from working for a competitor for two years after leaving Motorola. The suit didn’t name the two employees he allegedly helped Apple recruit.
The uncertainty and deteriorating performance in Motorola’s mobile device division has led many employees to flee the Illinois-based company for more secure employment. Three of the most recent high-profile departures include former Chief Technical Officer Padmasree Warrior, who joined Cisco; Ron Garrigues, who joined Dell, and former COO Mike Zafirovski who joined Nortel.
