Acer sues former CEO for taking a job at Lenovo

TAIWANESE LAPTOP MAKER Acer is suing its former CEO for taking a job at its rival Lenovo.

According to the Financial Times, Acer said that it has initiated legal action against Gianfranco Lanci in Italy, his home country, for allegedly violating non-compete clauses in his contract with the firm.

Acer said he violated the contract when he left in February then joined Lenovo as a consultant in September, before being named as company's head for Europe, Middle East and Africa last month.

Acer claimed that there was a non-compete period of 12 months in the contract that Lanci had signed.

"We believe Mr. Lanci has clearly breached the terms of the non-compete agreement he entered into willingly... we believe we have a very robust case," Acer said.

Acer said it is seeking unspecified damages against Lanci, but Lenovo said it is confident that its own agreement with Lanci meets legal requirements. µ