Alphabet'sLegal Chief to Leave -- WSJ
11 January 2020 - 7:02PM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah E. Needleman and Rob Copeland
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (January 11, 2020).
The chief legal officer of Google parent Alphabet Inc. is
leaving the company amid an investigation 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.
Since November, Mr. Drummond has sold more than $221 million in
Google stock, according to securities filings. He received about
$47.3 million in total compensation including stock awards in 2018,
company filings show, making him one of Alphabet's highest-paid
executives.
Alphabet has said it was investigating Mr. Drummond's alleged
misconduct.
Mr. Drummond's departure comes a month after the company
shuffled its management structure, with co-founders Larry Page and
Sergey Brin stepping down from day-to-day responsibilities and
making Sundar Pichai chief executive of both Alphabet and
Google.
Mr. Drummond, who joined Google full-time in 2002, has been
working on Alphabet's investments including venture-capital arm GV
and private-equity firm CapitalG, as well as legal matters related
to the Alphabet structure. During his tenure, he had a hand in
negotiating major acquisitions including Motorola Mobility and
YouTube.
One year ago, a group of Alphabet shareholders sued several
company officers and directors including Mr. Drummond, alleging
"active and direct participation in a multi-year scheme to cover up
sexual harassment and discrimination at Alphabet," according to a
complaint filed in the San Mateo County Superior Court in
California.
The suit, which is pending, accuses Mr. Drummond of concealing
an affair with former Google employee Jennifer Blakely. It also
claims he had knowledge of pervasive sexual harassment by Google
executives and was complicit in failing to disclose the harassment
and taking steps to cover it up.
Alphabet has declined to comment on the allegations.
Several other Alphabet shareholders have sued the company since
January of last year.
In an August post on the blog site Medium, Ms. Blakely said that
she began a relationship with Mr. Drummond in 2004 while she worked
with him in the company's legal department and that she had a child
with him in 2007.
Mr. Drummond has had romantic relationships with Google staffers
other than Ms. Blakely, according to a person familiar with the
matter.
"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.
In a statement to BuzzFeed last year, Mr. Drummond said that
while he was "far from perfect," he had a "very different view" of
Ms. Blakely's claims. "Her account raises many claims about us and
other people, including our son and my former wife," he said. "As
you would expect, there are two sides to all of the conversations
and details Jennifer recounts, and I take a very different view
about what happened."
A special committee formed by Alphabet's board hired law firm
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and Abrams & Bayliss LLP last
year to investigate how executives at the search giant have handled
claims of sexual harassment and other misconduct.
An Alphabet spokeswoman said an initial investigation has been
completed and the board committee will continue to engage with the
plaintiffs in mediation.
Thousands of Google employees world-wide staged walkouts last
year to protest the tech giant's treatment of executives, including
Mr. Drummond, accused of pursuing relationships with staff.
Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com and Rob
Copeland at rob.copeland@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 11, 2020 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024