Pichai becomes CEO
Senior vice president Pichai becomes Google’s CEO. Page:
A key part of this is Sundar Pichai. Sundar has been saying the things I would have said (and sometimes better!) for quite some time now, and I’ve been tremendously enjoying our work together. He has really stepped up since October of last year, when he took on product and engineering responsibility for our internet businesses. Sergey and I have been super excited about his progress and dedication to the company. And it is clear to us and our board that it is time for Sundar to be CEO of Google. I feel very fortunate to have someone as talented as he is to run the slightly slimmed down Google and this frees up time for me to continue to scale our aspirations.
Dan Fredingburg dies in avalanche
Fredinburg dies from head injuries after being hit by an avalanche. Other climbers with him are being treated at the Everest base camp. Google lawyer:
Dan Fredinburg, a long-time member of the Privacy organization in Mountain View, was in Nepal with three other Googlers, hiking Mount Everest. He has passed away. The other three Googlers with him are safe and we are working to get them home quickly. Google’s Crisis Response team has launched Person Finder for Nepal, and is working to get updated satellite imagery to aid in the recovery effort. Google.org is committing $1M to the response, and we’ll have gift-matching available soon.
Hired by Google
Porat is hired as Google’s CFO, two weeks after the previous CFO, Patrick Pichette, announced his decision to retire from the role in a candid memo about work/life balance. She will start May 26. Page:
We’re tremendously fortunate to have found such a creative, experienced and operationally strong executive. I look forward to learning from Ruth as we continue to innovate in our core—from search and ads, to Android, Chrome and YouTube—as well as invest in a thoughtful, disciplined way in our next generation of big bets.
Porat:
I’m delighted to be returning to my California roots and joining Google. Growing up in Silicon Valley, during my time at Morgan Stanley and as a member of Stanford’s Board, I’ve had the opportunity to experience first hand how tech companies can help people in their daily lives. I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and get started.
Leaves Google for SpaceX
Wyler leaves Google to work with Space Exploration Technologies Corp. In his departure, he takes rights to certain radio spectrum that could be used to provide Internet access. This could hurt Google’s aspirations in this area in the short term, but there are many alternatives to spreading Internet connectivity globally.
Glass director joins Amazon
Babak Parviz, Google X director and one of the creators of Google Glass, leaves to join Amazon. Amazon and Parviz both decline to comment about his role in the company.
Pledges $50m to teach girls to code
Google pledges $50 million over the next three years into its Made With Code effort. The Company hopes to connect more girls to CS courses available through Khan Academy or Code academy. Susan Wojcicki, the CEO of YouTube says that less than 1% of high school girls expressed an interest in majoring in computer science.
Coding isn’t just a skill useful for working at a tech company; engineering isn’t just for engineers. Interior design. Medicine. Architecture. Music. No matter what a girl dreams of doing, learning how to code will help her get there.
Rubin leaves Android
Andy Rubin, co-founder of Android Inc., decides to leave Android and work on other projects at Google. He is replaced by Sundar Pichar, one of the lead managers of Google Chrome’s development:
Having exceeded even the crazy ambitious goals we dreamed of for Android—and with a really strong leadership team in place—Andy’s decided it’s time to hand over the reins and start a new chapter at Google.