Lenovo this week named former Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci to head up its new Europe, Middle East and Africa business unit. Lanci had been working with Lenovo as a consultant since last September, but now he's going to be in a prime position to take the fight to his former company. Lanci probably has plenty of motivation to do so, considering that Acer's board ousted him last March over a difference of opinion about how best to approach the tablet market.

During his six-year tenure at Acer, Lanci gained widespread respect in system builder channel and was credited for leading Acer into the position it held in 2009 as the world’s number two notebook maker. Lenovo has since overtaken Acer for the number two spot in the PC market, and now Acer will have to find a way to deal with Lenovo's considerable momentum.