SiliconBeat

There’s all sorts of speculation as to why VMware founder and CEO Diane Greene was fired this week. But clearly the move took even close observers by surprise.

Let’s acknowledge something straight up: Greene’s firing was unusually fast and harsh by Silicon Valley standards. And given the naked brutality, I have to wonder if this would have happened if Greene wasn’t a woman?

I don’t level a charge of sexism lightly. On the other hand, that last time I can remember such an ugly dismissing of a high-profile CEO was Carly Fiorina being cut loose from HP.

Who was the last male CEO in Silicon Valley to get chucked aside so unceremoniously for so little cause? During a dinner party I attended last night, one valley CEO was asked about Greene’s abrupt departure and noted that “she only got one strike” before she was gone.

There’s of course no way to know for sure. And there’s widespread rumors of bad blood between Greene and EMC, which spun VMware out last year and still owns 86 percent of the stock. But with so few women CEOs in Silicon Valley (and the executive ranks in general), any such event deserves extra scrutiny.

More typically, a CEO — especially a founder — gets some sort of soft landing, or an easing out. Maybe they get “promoted” to the board. The company’s board claimed it discussed other positions with Greene, and when she declined, she was out. And there was also a lot of talk about hiring a new CEO who could better handle the competition coming from Microsoft which just entered the market in June. But certainly Microsoft’s entry into this market has been no surprise.

Yes, for the record, it appears VMware has stumbled a bit since it went public and it’s stock is down. But how many tech companies haven’t seen their stock tumble in recent months? EMC’s stock is down by almost 50 percent since last November. Also, let’s remember that the economy is tanking and everyone is seeing a slowdown in sales. Finally, for goodness sake, the company has only been public since last August.

Just last summer, with the IPO looming, VMware’s owner, EMC, bumped up Greene’s salary from $350,000 to $700,000. In the securities filing noting her departure this week, VMware noted that Greene was officially dismissed “without cause” which means she’s eligible for a generous severance package that was valued in the most recent proxy at $47.5 million, including accelerated vesting of restricted stock and options. So she won’t be living on the streets.

Still, it will be interesting to see the impact on morale at VMware, where Greene was well liked. Just when employees need to be fired up to compete against Microsoft, this has likely come as a huge distraction. And of course, Greene’s husband, Mendel Rosenblum, who also co-founded VMware and is chief scientist, probably can’t be thinking about sticking around too much longer after this.

Virtualization.info has copies of the internal emails sent to VMware employees about the change. And the article includes what it claims is a note from one VMware employee with this troubling take:

“I don’t know the exact details but it seems like Joe Tucci was not ready to let go yet. BUT a large number of VMware employees are not happy. And it seems that soon people could start leaving in a mass exodus if they do not get straight answers from management.”

Even after her departure, Greene has been getting lots of praise. Jon Oltsik of CNet notes that Greene got less attention than flashier female CEOs like Carly Fiorina:

“With all due respect, I think Greene’s achievements with VMware surpass these others and make her one of the more influential women in the history of IT.”

Johanna Ambrosio of Computerworld said that while a change may have been needed:

“…the move was abrupt and completely lacking in class or grace — and the suggestion was made that it was ‘punishment’ for upcoming bad quarterly numbers. This charge amounts to just smoke and mirrors, to be sure, and Ms. Greene, who has done more to get virtualization a place in the corporate tech lineup than just about anyone else, certainly deserved a nobler parting.”

Finally, in truly awkward timing, the parting comes just a few days after the Economist magazine ran a glowing profile of Greene, noting the distinct form of leadership she brought as a woman and asking whether her embrace of cooperation rather than confrontation might be a better model for high-tech companies:

“No wonder that the culture of VMware, which now employs over 6,000 people, is often described as open and collegiate. Where Ms Greene differs from the old school of high-tech bosses is how she sees the interplay between competition and co-operation. “I grew up playing Monopoly and Risk,” she says. “You have to collaborate to win these games—and compete when it is time to compete. But if you compete and break somebody’s trust you are going to lose the next time.” “