Lee is CDN lives with his family in the Ottawa area, thus for him to pack up and move it to San Jose, CA would have been a difficult move. With where POET is in the cycle it was most likely that the VP of Technology would need to be located near their potential customers and partners, thus the necessity to move to the Si Valley area. Lee has worked hard for the company and most likely stepping back to breath and enjoy his family for a while. Keep in mind that Lee has his own company and may revitalize those interests.

To be honest, POET may have out grown his expertise.