Jonathan Martin Joins Pure Storage as CMO

Former EMC Chief Marketing Officer Jonathan Martin has joined flash storage array vendor Pure Storage as its CMO.

Martin, who worked for EMC for four years, will begin his duties in July. He will report to Pure Storage President David Hatfield and will oversee the company’s worldwide marketing strategy.

“While we remain laser-focused on building the next great storage company, it is critical that we up level our brand and broaden our awareness worldwide in order to capitalize on the market opportunity we have in front of us today,” said Hatfield in a statement. “Jonathan’s vision, values and expertise complement our current team well and together, they will help propel us forward as Pure Storage reshapes the future of the enterprise data storage market.”

Prior to joining EMC, Martin held several executive-level positions at Hewlett-Packard Software (HP), including a stint as CMO. He has also worked for Salesforce and Veritas, among other companies.

A Pure Storage spokesperson told CRN in an interview that the CMO position is a newly created role for the company.

The intense rivalry between EMC and Pure Storage is one that has been closely documented, especially in light of EMC’s recent anti-poaching lawsuit to prevent a brain drain of corporate executives defecting to Pure, according to SiliconAngle. The initial dispute began in 2013 after EMC sued 44 of its former salespeople after they joined Pure Storage, CRN reported.