[Wazzymandias]

"It could be he has been busy doing real work in the last ten years and not researching solved problems that are generally encapsulated in well tested existing modules."

Sorry, I should have been more clear. We didn't ask the problem with the expectation of a perfect solution, it was more to gauge his problem solving skills. However as we were running out of time we asked him to implement a naive solution, which was met with a very negative response. Maybe I'm not explaining it properly but it gave the impression of a serious ego problem. Actually part of the criteria for our interview is to see how well a candidate can take feedback and make changes accordingly. They did poorly on that front.

Agree that architecture leadership is critical, especially when dealing with business teams that acquiesce to every single client demand with impunity.