Executives hailing from fledging startups and high-growth private firms are banding together to get non-compete agreements banned in Massachusetts.
A total of 37 CEOs in the Greater Boston community signed a letter stating their support of the ban. The letter will be sent to each Bay State senator and representative.
A number of local leaders have already spoken out against non-competes, citing that the agreements stifle innovation and hurt the local economy and are dropping them from their companies’ hiring policy.
In early April, Governor Deval Patrick proposed a piece of legislation calling for the ban on non-competes, as well as a controversial H-1B visa program. The bill also proposes spending for a Global Entrepreneur in Residence program that, if passed, would allow foreign students to stay in Massachusetts to work in startups.
This letter represents part of a refreshed push from the business community to eliminate non-competes for good in the state of Massachusetts.
Here is the full list of executives and their companies that have signed the letter:
Ariel Diaz, Founder and CEO, Boundless
Aaron Lapat, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Park Square Executive Search
Ash Ashutosh, Founder and CEO, Actifio
Ben Rubin, CEO, Change Collective
Bob Brennan, CEO, Veracode
Chris Thorpe, CEO, Philo
Dan Foody, Founder and CEO, Cloze
Dave Husak, Founder and CEO, Plexxi
Brendan Lattrell, CEO, Grapevine
Cameron Jacox, Founder and Managing Partner, InforcePRO
David Butler, Founder and CEO, iPositioning
David Rochon, Founder and CEO, SavingStar
Desmond Pieri, President and COO, Bridj
Diego Villegas, Co-Founder and CEO, Lengio
Doron Reuveni, CEO and Co-founder, Applause
Ellen Rubin, Co-founder and CEO, ClearSky Data
Eric Giler, CEO and Board Member, Witricity
Jason Jacobs, Founder and CEO, FitnessKeeper
Jane Hiscock, President & Founder, Farland Group
Jeff Sutherland, CEO, Scrum Inc.
Johannes Fruehauf, Founder, President and Executive Director, Lab Central
Joshua Boger, Founder and Former CEO and Chairman, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Jules Pieri, CEO and Co-Founder, The Grommet
Justin Borgman, CEO, Hadapt
Matt Lauzon, CEO, Dunwello
Matthew Littlefield, President and Principal Analyst, LNS Research
Mike Baker, Co-founder, President, and CEO, DataXu
Nicole Sahin, CEO, Globalization Partners
Paul English, Co-founder and CEO, Blade
Scott Cooper, CEO, Shop Advisor
Scott Miller, Co-founder and CEO, Dragon Innovation
Shimon Hason, CEO, Intigua
Slava Menn, Co-founder, Fortified Bicycle Alliance
Tim Rowe, Founder and CEO, CIC
Tom Burgess, CEO, Linkable Networks
Tom Erickson, CEO, Acquia
Vince Graziani, CEO and President, Sand 9
Image via AllThingsD
