By
Paresh Dave
(Reuters) - Alphabet's new Chief Executive Sundar Pichai on
Friday gained the opportunity to reshape the leadership of
Google's parent with the exit of Chief Legal Officer David
Drummond, whose outsized strategic role was overshadowed by
employee concerns about his personal relationship with a
subordinate.
Drummond, also senior vice president of corporate development,
had been with Google since its start in 1998. He incorporated
the company as outside counsel, winning the business of
co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. He later spent nearly 18
years as the company's top lawyer and one of its few black
executives.
Scrutiny centered on Drummond as the board last year
investigated the company's handling of sexual misconduct
complaints throughout its workforce, and he became a lightning
rod for criticism about what some employees viewed as tolerance
for poor behavior.
Pichai now has his first big chance to make his mark on Alphabet
leadership since Page and Brin left him day-to-day reins of the
company last month.
Drummond's last day is Jan. 31, and a replacement has not been
decided yet, Alphabet said.
"With Larry and Sergey now leaving their executive roles at
Alphabet, the company is entering an exciting new phase, and I
believe that it’s also the right time for me to make way for the
next generation of leaders," Drummond said in an email to
employees shared by Google.
Some employees had questioned Drummond's role at the company
after the New York Times in 2018 reported on an extramarital
affair he had with subordinate, Jennifer Blakely, starting in
2004. She told the paper that she was effectively forced to
transfer teams to comply with Google's workplace dating policy.
Blakely had a son with Drummond, but in August 2019 she publicly
criticized him for not providing support. Drummond responded in
a statement calling himself "far from perfect." Blakely did not
immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
Some shareholders have urged Alphabet to make changes that had
been within Drummond's purview, including greater financial
transparency, bigger share buybacks and a management shakeup.
Alphabet shares have risen 6.5% this month as analysts expressed
optimism about possible changes.
In a departure from company norm, Drummond is not receiving an
exit pay package. In recent weeks, Drummond sold more than $200
million worth of his Alphabet shares, leaving him with about $90
million in company stock.
He remains a defendant, alongside other executives, in a lawsuit
shareholders brought last year accusing Alphabet leadership of
covering up sexual harassment scandals within the company
including by awarding lavish exit packages to two top executives
found responsible for misconduct.
"While we are glad to see Mr. Drummond is no longer with
Alphabet, we still intend to hold him accountable for fiduciary
breaches through our litigation," said Julie Goldsmith Reiser,
attorney for the lead plaintiffs.
The board completed an internal investigation last month, but
has not publicized findings. The litigation is in mediation, and
the board's findings and resulting actions may become known as
it goes on.
Pichai in 2018 said Google made mistakes in some cases and
introduced new procedures aimed at creating equity and
transparency in harassment investigations.
"I am fully committed to making progress on an issue that has
persisted for far too long in our society… and, yes, here at
Google, too," said Pichai, who at the time was Google CEO and
had not yet gained the additional title of Alphabet CEO.
The #MeToo movement has forced major shake-ups in management and
harassment policy across corporate America.
Through blog posts, congressional appearances and media
interviews, Drummond's presence was felt in nearly every public
battle the company fought as it crippled traditional businesses
in media and telecoms on its way to online dominance.
Drummond has described himself as a diversity advocate, telling
Fortune in 2017 that he "pushed" the company to do more on the
issue. He encouraged Google to publish data about the
demographics of its workforce, and in 2014 he marched into a
companywide meeting and spoke alongside colleagues frustrated by
police violence against young black men.
BIGGER ROLE
When Google re-organized under the Alphabet umbrella in 2015,
Page elevated Drummond's role beyond managing the company's
legal and regulatory problems to overseeing its investment funds
and far-off ventures.
Earlier in his tenure, he beat a lawsuit lodged by insurer Geico
that would have undermined the company's now-massive search ads
business. He settled with Viacom <VIACA.O> a copyright
infringement lawsuit that could have crushed YouTube on its way
to becoming the top online video destination. And he fended off
five major book publishers to enable Google to make their
copyrighted works searchable online.
Drummond tussled on behalf of Google with rival Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O>
for a decade on executive poaching, anticompetitive conduct and
patents, with each company taking its share of licks.
As Google's lead dealmaker, Drummond oversaw billions of
dollars' worth of acquisitions including of YouTube, DoubleClick
and Motorola.
Drummond for a time served as the public face of strong stands
against governments around the world. He has regularly advocated
for freedoms of speech, and in 2010, he called for trade
sanctions on countries that censor the internet, such as China
and Turkey.
(Reporting by Paresh Dave in San Francisco; Additional reporting
by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta
and Cynthia Osterman)
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