NetApp Sues Former CTO,alleging Corporate Espionage and an “Office Space” Nod
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In what reads like a corporate thriller with a dash of dark comedy,NetApp has filed an explosive lawsuit against one of its former senior executives,alleging he secretly developed a competing business while still collecting a paycheck.He then sold the business to a direct rival for an undisclosed sum just weeks after leaving the company.
The case, recently filed in federal court in Florida, paints a picture of alleged corporate betrayal that combines serious legal violations with an audacious inside joke referencing the 1999 cult classic film “Office Space.”
Underneath it all, though, lay the fortunes of two major players in enterprise infrastructure, NetApp and VAST Data.Its also a lawsuit that raises questions about the tremendous power and influence a key technology executive wields in a hypercompetitive market like cloud AI and data infrastructure.
The Facts
On November 6, 2025, NetApp filed suit against former senior vice president and chief technical officer, Jon Stefansson. The suit alleges that Stefánsson deceived NetApp, stole its intellectual property, and ultimately leveraged that intellectual property when becoming VAST Data’s general manager of cloud solutions (find a PDF of NetApp’s complaint at
NetApp Accuses former Exec of Stealing Trade secrets Before VAST Data Acquisition
NetApp filed a lawsuit in california superior court on November 17, 2025, alleging that former executive Sigurd Stefánsson and co-founder Björn Hrafnsson misappropriated trade secrets before selling their startup, Red Stapler, to VAST Data. The lawsuit claims Stefánsson and Hrafnsson began developing Red Stapler’s technology while still employed at NetApp and continued to draw salaries from the company they were allegedly planning to compete against.
Even more problematic, netapp discovered a “Red Stapler” GitHub repository indicating that Stefánsson and Hrafnsson actively designed and developed software for their startup while Stefánsson remained a NetApp employee.
Internal emails reveal the “redstapler-is” association existed on GitHub as early as June 16, 2025, eleven days before Stefánsson formally left NetApp on June 27, 2025.
The Ten-Week “Miracle”
Red Stapler officially incorporated on July 3, 2025, shortly after Stefánsson’s departure. The company operated in stealth mode with Stefánsson as CEO, alongside five former NetApp employees and one current employee – Hrafnsson, who stayed at NetApp until August 31, 2025, while also serving as Red Stapler’s second-largest shareholder.
Then came the surprise. On September 9, 2025, just ten weeks after incorporation, VAST Data, a direct NetApp competitor, acquired Red Stapler for an undisclosed sum.
VAST’s press release announcing the acquisition highlighted Stefánsson’s experience “competing against VAST” (while at NetApp) and the Red Stapler team’s “track record of designing and launching cloud-native services with leading hyperscalers.”
The acquisition’s key asset is reportedly Red Stapler’s “cloud control plane and service delivery platform” that would enable VAST to “burst seamlessly into public cloud environments.”
NetApp argues this is where the wrongdoing lies. The company invested years and tens of millions of dollars developing its Service Delivery Engine (SDE), an orchestration layer between hyperscalers and NetApp storage that performs the same function as Red Stapler’s product. The SDE allows users to manage their entire data estate from a hyperscaler’s native interface, integrating with any public cloud platform.
NetApp believes Red Stapler could not have developed competing technology in 10 weeks without using NetApp’s confidential and proprietary details.the timeline simply doesn’t support independent advancement.
Contractual Obligations
Stefánsson signed a Proprietary Information, Inventions, and Non-solicitation agreement (PIIA) before starting at NetApp, as required for all employees with access to sensitive information. This agreement was comprehensive:
- It prohibited disclosing or improperly using NetApp’s confidential and proprietary information during and after employment.
- It required Stefánsson to assign all inventions developed during his employment to NetApp.
- It mandated notifying NetApp of any inventions created within six months after employment ended.
- It barred soliciting NetApp employees and business partners.
NetApp asserts that Stefánsson violated all these provisions.
Even if Stefánsson and his team had independently developed Red Stapler’s technology in that short timeframe, the PIIA required him to inform netapp of the invention. NetApp states he never did.
Disappearing Act
After learning of the VAST acquisition in late October,NetApp sent Stefánsson a cease-and-desist letter,emphasizing the overlap between his NetApp role and his