Megachart & Analysis: Google Executive Management Changes, 2000-2008

With two high-ranking
Google executives leaving the Big G within a month’s time, I thought it
would be interesting to go back through
Google’s executive
management page over the years and see how it reflects changes among the
higher-ups. Below, there are a series of tables and commentary that hopefully
let you understand the shifting currents at-a-glance.

Some notes. First, I think who gets listed on this page — and the order in
which they are listed — is important. This has to be a perk for some execs —
that they’ll get to show up and be profiled on that page. In addition, the order
is not always alphabetical. With the exception of the big three — CEO Eric
Schmidt, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin — I think who shows up first when it’s a
non-alphabetical listing can be significant. There can be some exceptions to
this, and I’ll note them as part of the charts. Let’s dive in.

The charts below reflect the exact order people were listed on the executive
management pages, for the dates shown at the top of each charge. There may have
been other changes between dates, of course. Maybe eventually I’ll go back and
redo this to reflect all significant changes to the pages. I might have missed
some key updates.

Each row in the chart shows where an executive was listed, in a white
background. If you hit a gray background while reading across, then that person moved
somehow. They might have gone up or down on the page, and I show this with a
notation. I also note if someone was given a title change (usually a promotion).
Keep in mind that sometimes titles at Google don’t reflect that much.
Matt Cutts, for example, remains (I
think) a senior software engineer. In another company (or if he were a different
type of person), he’d probably be called "vice president, search quality."
Still, seeing how titles change among the top execs is still useful to note.

Be sure to read the summaries below each chart. Sometimes people will drop in
positions, but that doesn’t mean they necessarily have dropped in "pecking
order." Indeed, speculating that there is a pecking order to some of these pages
is just that, speculation.

Finally, if you see orange, that’s when someone actually left Google. Why
orange? Hey, red looked too bad, and I’m color-challenged. Like I need
Garanimals for adults, OK?

Google Management: 2000 to 2002

In 2000, only eight executives get spotlighted on the page. After Larry
Page and Sergey Brin, the remaining six aren’t in alphabetical order. My
assumption is that Urs Hölzle got third billing because he was over at engineering.
At Google, engineering rules, as will be seen later on.

Omid Kordestani came next. I’d say that was a nod to the man who became
Google’s early breadwinner. Cindy McCaffrey, the woman who guided
Google toward its public relations greatness, came fifth. After that, my assumption is that
both Tim Armstrong and Joan Braddi were deemed important enough to deserve
management page credit with an alphabetical listing between them used as a
tie-breaker.

Of course, all four VPs I’ve mentioned oversaw different areas. Could it be
that they were listed alphabetically by those areas (Business Development,
Corporate Communications, National Sales, & Licensing Sales)? Not with National
Sales coming before Licensing Sales. Perhaps seniority was involved.

Craig Silverstein in "last" place? I’d call that more "pride of place,"
similar to when you’ve got an important actor who gets the last credit. He’s
also the only director level position on the list. And I could be overthinking
all of this.

In 2001, Wayne Rosing came on to head engineering, apparently
replacing Urs Hölzle, who shifted over into being named "Google Fellow." But
Omid Kordestani bumped the VP of engineering slot out of third billing, likely a
reflection of how important he was to actually building Google a business
income.

Joan Braddi and Tim Armstrong did a flipflop in terms of how they were
listed. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was something thought to be fair,
flipping two execs seen as co-equal in the billing, to make things fair.

Am I reading too much into the order? Perhaps — but alphabetically by name
isn’t used, nor is alphabetically by the area each VP governed used. And if it
were seniority, then McCaffrey would have been over Rosing.

In 2002, the big change was Eric Schmidt coming on as CEO. That moved
everyone down a notch. Larry Page became "President, Products" and Sergey Brin,
"President, Technology." Kordestani got promoted to Senior Vice President and
kept his spot after the big three.

The three VPs other than Cindy McCaffrey might have been shifted to be listed
in alphabetical order by last name — so movement here might signify nothing.
Then the non-VPs, Hölzle and Silverstein, are listed.

So why’s VP McCaffrey at the end? Look, Cindy was important. Very much so.
That drop had nothing to do with any decreased importance, in my view. To me, it
would have been much more an honor of last billing sometimes being more noticed.

Google Management: 2003 to 2004

For consistency with the earlier chart, I’ve continued on from 2002, which was
already covered above.

In 2003, three new key executives were added. George Reyes was named
Chief Financial Officer and took over the number four spot previously held by
Omid Kordestani, who slipped down slightly past engineering VP Wayne Rosing.
David Drummond, Vice President, Corporate Development, was added and jumped
above existing execs like Tim Armstrong and Joan Braddi. The same was true for
new exec Jonathan Rosenberg, Vice President, Product Management. Larry Page,
long either in the top spot or second spot, swapped places with Sergey Brin. I
doubt it meant anything more than the two deciding they should rotate from
time-to-time.

In 2004, there was spring cleaning. Long-standing execs Armstrong,
Braddi, Hölzle, & Silverstein were dropped from the page. They were still at
Google, but they no longer got listed as top management. Shona Brown, Vice
President, Business Operations, came in as the only new exec to make the page.
She took over Cindy McCaffrey’s spot at the end of the list. In doing so, that
last spot no longer felt like a place to spotlight an exec but rather that the
list was showing a pecking order of who was rated most important.

Google Management: 2005 to 2006

Again, for consistency when moving between charts, I’ve repeated the previous
year. Moving along…

In 2005, there was only one major change — Cindy McCaffrey was off
the chart. She’d left Google by then (in
December 2004), the first high-ranking exec to take her well-deserved
winnings and move on.

In 2006, there was another absence. Wayne Rosing became the second
high-ranking exec to depart,
having left in May 2005
(and see

here) to focus on his passion for astronomy. But the real change was the
addition of many new execs to the page. Elliot Schrage took over from Cindy
McCaffrey, so his addition was no surprise. Same too for the three separate VPs
of engineering that came in to fill Wayne Rosing’s spot.

But many pre-IPO Google employees gained new recognition, such as Sheryl
Sandberg, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, and Marissa Mayer. Meanwhile, Omid Kordestani
moved back higher in the seeming pecking order and Tim Armstrong finally
returned to the page. Joan Braddi, who he’d long been twinned with on the page,
did not, despite still being at Google then (and today).

Google Management: 2006 to 2008

As with the other charts, I’ve repeated the last year of the previous one,
2006, so that comparisons can continue.

In 2007, we see a major change. Google execs were divided into two
groups. First there’s the Executive Management Group, of EMG. These are the most
senior executives. There’s no pecking order in how they are listed after the
top trio of Schmidt-Page-Brin. Everyone else is listed alphabetically by last
name, regardless of job title. All elevated to the EMG had been previously
listed on the management page before. Several gained promotion to senior vice
president level (Brown, Drummond, Eustace, Hölzle, & Rosenberg). Hölzle is
notable for being the only one to return to the executive page after an absence.
He was on the original executive page way back in 2000 as a VP; he changed to
being a Google Fellow in 2001 and was dropped in 2004. His return reflected
gaining SVP in addition to his Google Fellow title.

Other executives are listed under the "Google Management Group" heading.
These include all the new additions from 2005 (such as Mayer, Kamangar, Sandberg,
among others). In addition, many new execs get added, such as Susan Wojcicki and
Douglas Merrill, among others. Only one person goes, Miriam Rivera, formerly
listed as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. I don’t recall any news coming out
about her leaving Google. But she definitely left at some point,

currently serving on the Stanford University Board Of Trustees.

In 2008, another big shake-up. The executive page listed over 50
people, more than ever before.

The EMG section remained largely the same. The only addition was Laszlo Bock,
Vice President, People Operations, jumping into it. David Drummond got a title
change, picking up Chief Legal Officer to add to his SVP title. Jeff Huber
gained an SVP title, as did CFO George Reyes. Reyes, of course, also announced
he was resigning in
August 2007. More than half-a-year later, he continues to serve and seek a
replacement. Forbes

looked at that challenge back in December.

The Google Management Group section added in 2007 did not survive. Instead,
all the execs there other than three departures I’ll come to were added to one
of several groups: Engineering, Product, Sales, Legal, Finance, & Business
Operations. Within each group, people were listed alphabetically by name, regardless
of title.

I said earlier that engineers sat on top of the Google pecking order. Anyone
familiar with Google culture will tell you this, and the order of the groups
reflects it. Engineering comes first. That just alphabetical? Sure, Product and
Sales would come next, but then Legal & Business Operations ruins that pattern.

Within the group are names long on the page, such as Vint Cerf. But many new
names were added, such as engineering VP Stuart Feldman and Shiva Shivakumar, who
is also Google’s only Distinguished Entrepreneur. Still listed today but soon to
go missing is Douglas Merrill,
confirmed to be leaving
and expected to head to EMI. Missing from the group is Adam Bosworth,
who left in September
2007.

In the Product group are (again) familiar names (Kamangar, Mayer, Wojcicki) along
with two new ones (Mario Queiroz, Vice President, Product Management, EMEA &
Latin America, and Lorraine Twohill, Vice President, Marketing, EMEA).

Sales is the biggest group (13 people) outside the EMG itself (14 people),
just edging out Engineering (12) and Products (5). Lots of new additions to the
page show up. Notable is David Fischer, Vice President, Online Sales &
Operations, filling the
spot vacated by Sheryl Sandberg in March 2008, though Fischer doesn’t get
the "Global" moniker that Sandberg’s title carried. Also notable are some
additions for areas outside the US, such as Daniel Alegre, Vice President, Latin
America and APLA Business Development.

We also see the first "President" titles showing up beyond those that the two
founders carry. Indeed, while I previously said that at Google, engineers rule
— on a title basis, it’s the sales side that would seem to outrank. Tim
Armstrong, Nikesh Arora, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, and Norio Murakami all carry a
president’s title, joining Kai-Fu Lee, who already had one. That’s six sales-side
presidents to only one on the engineering side (Sergey Brin) and one on the
product side (Larry Page). Of course, most of these sales presidents oversee
areas outside the US (China, Japan, Europe & Middle East; Asia & Latin America),
and there might be regulatory or other reasons why it’s helpful to have someone
at least carry a president’s title.

In the Legal group, one new exec is added (Megan Smith, Vice President, New
Business Development) and David Lawee stays on the executive page but seems to
make a lateral move, becoming VP of corporate development. Previously, he was VP
of marketing. Oddly, this means that Google seems to be without a VP of marketing, at the
moment.

In the Finance group, four new execs get named in addition to David
Radcliffe, Vice President, Real Estate, who was previously on the page. And
Francoise Brougher, Vice President, Business Operations, becomes the sole person
listed in the Business Operations Group.

Departures, In Summary

So with all the talk of a brain drain, how’s it looking in terms of
executives on the Google management page that have gone? Year-by-year:

• 2000: 0 departures
• 2001: 0 departures
• 2002: 0 departures
• 2003: 0 departures
• 2004: 1 departure (Cindy McCaffrey; this was also Google’s IPO year)
• 2005: 1 departure (Wayne Rosing)
• 2006: 1 departure (Mariam Rivera — may have left in 2007)
• 2007: 1 departure (Adam Bosworth; George Reyes announced departure;
  Louis Monier also left and may have been listed on the page at a time point
  I didn’t check)
• 2008: 2 departures (Sandberg & Merrill)
• Total To Date: 6 departures

That’s it — only six named execs to depart (though there might be a few
more, if they were named on pages between the time points I picked). Frankly,
that seems a great retention record to me, four years after the company went
public, when plenty of the execs are pre-IPO and wealthy. But as I said in my
post today about Merrill’s departure, I’m sure Google will continue to see
execs go because they want to show they can succeed on their own, out from
under Google’s shadow.

Eventually, Google might also suffer Yahoo’s problem, that post-IPO execs
leave not just for the challenge but because they potentially can make IPO
money by working for actual start-ups, rather than a former start-up that
simply can’t deliver the same perks (payoff, lack of bureaucracy).

By the way, be sure to check out
this cool Google
organization map that’s being maintained at the Cogmap wiki.