The off-the-field rivalry between Pure Storage Inc. and EMC Corp. flared up again this week after the latter’s chief marketing officer became the latest of its senior executives to defect to the flash array startup. The landmark hire comes in defiance of a pending anti-poaching lawsuit designed the try and halt the transfer of talent.

But that didn’t stop Pure from appointing James Petter, the former managing director of EMC’s UK business, as its vice president of operations for Europe and the Middle East a few months ago.  Which is why it shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise that the legal threat hanging overhead wasn’t so much as mentioned in the press release that went out this morning to officially declare Jonathan Martin’s appointment as its new head of marketing.

The veteran executive brings over two decades of industry experience to Pure, the past four of which spent running EMC’s multi-billion dollar marketing machine.  Before that, Martin served in various senior positions at Hewlett-Packard Co.’s software business, including a year and a half as the general manager of the information management unit prior to joining the storage giant.

The new gig at Pure should provide a departure from that track. Martin will be in charge of leading its worldwide marketing efforts amid an aggressive expansion effort that is expected to culminate in a public offering sometime later this year. In accordance with the importance of his role, Martin will report directly to Pure president David Hatfield once he starts on the job next month.

As for EMC, it now has another newly vacated position to fill, along with an extra count to help strengthen its lawsuit. That  may very be the sole upside of Martin’s defection given that he likely won’t be the last executive to switch sides if the the rivalry with Pure continues on its current terms.

Photo via theCUBE