Acer sues former chief over move to Lenovo

BREAKING UP is hard to do, and so it proves for the Taiwanese PC maker Acer.

The company is suing its ex-CEO Gianfranco Lanci, claiming that his move to rival Lenovo after jumping ship last year breaches a non-compete clause in his employment contract.

Lanci abandoned the helm at Acer in March last year, apparently after a board room spat over how to play in the tablet market without destroying the company's traditional laptop business. He then reappeared at Acer's arch rival Lenovo in a consultancy role not long after.

But this career move apparently bothered Acer. According to a statement, it is suing Lanci in a Milan court. Apparently his defection to Lenovo breaches a clause preventing him from working for a competing company for a year after his departure from Acer.

Acer said that it believes Lanci's move to Lenovo "clearly breached" the terms of the non-compete agreement.

Lenovo told Reuters it did not comment on unresolved legal cases, but added, "We are confident that our relationship with Mr. Lanci meets all legal requirements." µ