One of Avnet Australia's former senior sales executives has lashed out at his ex-employer, responding to rumours leaked from the company painting him as a corporate traitor and saboteur.
According to a source within the technology and marketing services provider, the company's senior management went into a panic when they discovered that one of their most respected sales staff, Geoffrey Lang, had resigned and joined a competitor start-up called United Business Solutions.
It's alleged that Avnet management -- acting on the belief that Lang conspired with two ex-employees of the company to establish UBS while he was still on Avnet's payroll -- contacted their clients to discourage them from dealing with him.
Contained in the allegations was the belief that Avnet acted to protect its business, having formed the opinion that Lang stayed in the company in order to siphon its business into the new venture.
It's further alleged that Colin McKenna, Avnet Australia's managing director, instructed staff to cease communications with Lang and not discuss the circumstances of his departure outside the company.
While McKenna admits that Lang's departure "caused a bit of emotion" he denies knowing of any instance in which Avnet's business may have been transferred to UBS.
"Geoff Lang left us and I was disappointed to see him leave," said McKenna. "He started a competitive business and I informed my staff that was the case -- I have certainly not told staff to tell customers not to deal with him".
"Quite frankly he's off my radar screen. He's left and he's running a small competitor business but it's not a big deal".
Lang also denies some of the allegations but he gives a different account of his departure from Avnet.
Lang admits that he was "instrumental" in providing "business relationship" advice to UBS's founding group while he was still employed by Avnet and, after leaving, taking an active role in starting the company. However he denies stealing Avnet's clients while employed with the company.
"I can honestly say that, without exception, not one customer had an inkling that I had any thoughts of leaving at all and they were approached after I left," said Lang.
However, he claims Avnet threatened to sue him and gave customers what Lang describes as a "very unsatisfactory message about his personal integrity".
McKenna said that though Lang didn't leave in a good light, he insists that any contact made with clients regarding his departure was part of Avnet's natural course of business to inform them of changes at the company.
"Their words were 'Geoff's been moonlighting'," said Lang.
Lang claims he encountered that phrase in separate conversations with three different clients after his departure. Lang also claims that McKenna threatened to sack staff if they contacted him.
ZDNet Australia contacted IBM and Compaq, both of which are listed as partners of UBS and Avnet, regarding Lang's allegations.
Compaq has repeatedly dodged direct questions about conversations between Avnet management and Compaq staff at the time of Lang's departure.
IBM said it has contracts with both UBS and Avnet but none of its investigations of the relationship with Avnet could reveal any information that could corroborate Lang's version of events.
The situation has compelled Lang to lash out at his former employer. He said he left Avnet after watching it "take a death roll" of confusion and "missed customers".
Lang claimed that he found himself unable to provide customers with adequate levels of service as senior management sacked staff in order to support a cost structure that would protect their salaries.
Alleging that the total salaries of the top three executives in the company was over AU$1.5 million, he said he was forced to ask himself some serious questions about Avnet's business model.
"I was just a sales person but the impact for me was that that brought an non-competitive price-product to the market."
"What value do those roles -- not the individual people they're all very good -- have in a very different market place of 2002 where the perception of value is paramount in the purchase decision?" asked Lang.
In perhaps the most serious of his allegations, Lang said he believes that Avnet's business with Compaq, which is estimated to represent 85 percent of its revenue, is in "mortal danger".
McKenna said that Compaq's relationship with Avnet is fine and the business is expanding.
However, another former employee of Avnet said that they were aware of the rumours surrounding Lang's departure but was not in a position to know if they were true. However the individual was able to some credence Lang's claims about the condition of Avnet's relationship with Compaq.
"It was remarked by some in Compaq that there were concerns about Avnet's decision to distribute for IBM," said the insider.
McKenna has described Lang as an embittered man with a fertile imagination.
At the heights of the Technology Boom (Y2K, Sydney Olympics) organisation did contemplate the crash that the world experienced after 911.
In my humble opinion, Avnet CM re-aligned its market share to deliver a distribution model that would keep the parent company happy with end-of quarter results. With this decision, Avnet CM went through drastic staff reduction and concentrated on delivering products through Avnet Partner Solutions (Distribution).
IT resellers in this current climate need to focus on their core objectives so that they can provide quality and total commitment to their customer base. If not, it will be a competitor’s open market.
I am not in a position to comment if Geoff Lang was moonlighting whilst at Avnet, but I will comment that the remaining staff at Avnet had a dark cloud hanging over them in respect to job security. This is the reason why I departed before push came to shove.