I am a senior software engineer in a small private company of about 55 employees. There is a manager here of the EE (Electrical Engineering) group who at every possible chance asks the CEO for me and my colleague to share our source code with him for his "review". He has also suggested aiding us by outsourcing some work to his country of origin, and letting him manage the resources for me (citing cultural/time differences). I see no need for this, and it leaves us puzzled and defending our turf - not shedding a great light on the software team. Unfortunately, this EE manager has a closer relationship with the CEO (who has zero software knowledge), and I assume he tells him all sorts of negative things about the software team.
It is no secret that this EE manager has consultants doing most of his work, and our company spends quite a bit of money in that area. I figured out on LinkedIn that he is affiliated with that very consulting firm, and a VP of his own firm owns the one with which we are doing business. I don't think our CEO is aware of this.
I have deduced that he is trying to get control of more aspects of the company, so he can use his consulting firm, lining his own pockets - not necessarily in the best interest of our company.
Am I correct that this is a conflict of interest? If so, how should I handle it, if at all? At the very least, I'd like this manager to stop speaking poorly of my team.
Edit:
The relationship between the EE mgr and the consultant is not very clear just looking on LinkedIn quickly. Cross referencing shows the EE mgr's company in common. He is president while the other guy is VP. I might be making some assumptions here, but look to the person who has most to gain. I heard of an $8k check go out today for a new version of software which his consultants did poorly in the first place. Just seems too lucrative for it to be a coincidence. Assuming I'm right, how should I handle it? I actually feel threatened because he's constantly trying to get control of the software team - possibly for his own benefit, not the company's.