IBM Corp’s Lotus Development Corp subsidiary was none too pleased by yesterday’s Wall Street Journal extraordinary front-page 3,500-word dissection of the career claims made by its president, Jeff Papows over the years. The article counters Papow’s claims to have been a pilot in the Marines (make that air traffic controller); an orphan (his parents are said to still be living close to him in Massachusetts, although Papows denied ever having claimed to be an orphan); and a black-belt in tae kwon do (make that red), among others things. It all sounds fairly comical apart from reporter Jon Auerbach’s claims that Papows used his claims of thousands of flying hours to secure valuable sales of Lotus Notes to the military. The story quotes numerous ex- colleagues but none currently at Lotus or IBM. Lotus told us the story comprises rumors and commentary on rumors, and that it is surprised to see it in the Wall Street Journal because it isn’t a business story. It added, anything anyone here has to say about it is in the story – a roundabout way of saying ‘no comment.’
