Two members of this expanded cast of defendants, Shanker Ramamurthy and Pablo Suarez, were also named infiled by former GBS consultant Gerald Hayden against IBM in March 2021. That case, still being litigated, focuses on events that occurred principally during the period from 2018 to 2020, around the time Rometty stepped down as chief exec.
"By adding Watson Insights to the Mizuho proposal, this deal is now at great risk; a viable alternative would have been to do an up-sale after implementation," the letter continues. Michael Henry, no longer with IBM, has not replied to inquiries seeking comment. The aforementioned Hayden-filed lawsuit [Cummings offered IBM's leadership an opportunity to save face by saying"this cannot be a corporate strategy, not at IBM," and went on to tease the possibility of a mutually remunerative relationship – if the Mizuho situation could just be resolved.
"Moreover, the alleged conflict-of-interest with Fenergo identified in your correspondence does not exist. To the extent Mizuho decides to choose a solution other than one from AMLP, it would not be the result of any 'bait- and-switch.' It is our understanding that Mizuho is still in the process of evaluating the bid submissions and determining whether it wants to separate the on-boarding component from the due diligence component or what specific solution components it desires.
One of the OSHA complaints against IBM we've seen recounts a conversation in which Henry allegedly said that Mark Foster, SVP of IBM's GBS division, was a friend of Rometty and served as a figurehead who allowed Rometty and Diamond to do whatever they had to in order to keep Watson afloat.