Alphabet's Legal Chief to Leave Company
January 10 2020 - 4:37PM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah E. Needleman
The chief legal officer of Google parent Alphabet Inc. is
leaving the company amid investigations into his relationships with
employees of the search-engine giant.
David Drummond, 56 years old, said he would retire at the end of
the month from Alphabet after nearly 20 years of service, according
to a securities filing Friday. In a memo to employees, Mr. Drummond
said it is "the right time for me to make way for the next
generation of leaders."
A Google spokeswoman said Mr. Drummond isn't receiving an exit
package from the company. Alphabet has said it was investigating
Mr. Drummond's alleged misconduct.
Mr. Drummond has been working on Alphabet's investments
including venture-capital arm GV and private-equity firm CapitalG,
as well as legal matters related to Alphabet's corporate structure,
and fulfilling company secretarial duties. He joined Google
full-time in 2002, and during his tenure he had a hand in major
acquisitions including Motorola Mobility and YouTube.
Alphabet's board hired law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore last
year to investigate how executives at the search giant have handled
claims of sexual harassment and other misconduct, the New York
Times reported in November.
The probe followed a Medium post in August by former Google
employee Jennifer Blakely, who said she entered a personal
relationships in 2004 with Mr. Drummond and had a child with him in
2007.
"David was well aware that our relationship was in violation of
Google's new policy which went from 'discouraging'
direct-reporting-line relationships to outright banning them," she
wrote. Ms. Blakely also accused Mr. Drummond of having affairs with
several other Google staffers, including his personal
assistant.
In a statement to BuzzFeed last year Mr. Drummond acknowledged
having fathered a child with Ms. Blakely and said he was "far from
perfect." But he also said he had a "very different view" of Ms.
Blakely's claims.
Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 10, 2020 16:22 ET (21:22 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024