Godfather Of AdSense Leaves Google For Own Projects

Gokul Rajaram, apparently known internally at Google as one of the “godfathers of AdSense,” is leaving the company to pursue his own entrepreneurial projects and writing.

Fortune paraphrases Rajaram’s motives for departing:

He said he misses working on a small team and he hopes to recreate the startup environment when he launches his own company.

Rajaram left on very good terms with Google, but is one of a number of high-profile employees who have left the company in recent months to go out on their own or start new companies or join others. See our Google Employee archives for examples of such departures.

Why, SEL’s own Vanessa Fox falls into that camp. The allure, mystery, and power of being on the SEL staff is definitely a temptation for anyone.

Also see Profile Of Susan Wojcicki: Mother Of AdSense and Did Wojcicki Create AdSense? for some more background on the birth of AdSense.

About The Author

Greg Sterling

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on Twitter or find him at Google+.