Skip to main content

Chief legal officer David Drummond retiring from Alphabet following controversies

Longtime Google employee David Drummond is retiring from Alphabet on January 31. In addition to being chief legal officer of the parent company, he leads corporate development.

First reported by Forbes, Alphabet confirmed the departure and provided the following internal memo from Drummond:

With Larry [Page] and Sergey [Brin] 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. As a result, after careful consideration, I have decided to retire at the end of this month.

Drummond was a controversial senior vice president due to allegations of inappropriate relationships he had with employees over his tenure. The board of directors is currently investigating all conduct. According to Alphabet, he will not receive an exit package, which follows the company’s firmer stance on departures from late 2018. That said, he has sold (via CNBC) over $200 million in Alphabet stock over the past several months.

Larry Page was CEO at the time and apologized for his actions during an all-hands meeting last week, while Sundar Pichai detailed how Google is taking a firmer stance. For example, 48 people were terminated for sexual harassment in the past two years without an exit package.

Besides being CLO, Drummond overseas Alphabet investment companies GV (formerly Google Ventures) and CapitalG (late-stage growth and funding), as well as Jigsaw. He joined Google in 2002 and led global teams for legal, public policy, communications, corporate development/mergers and acquisitions, and product quality operations.

This executive change follows Page and Brin leaving their leadership roles last month, and naming Sunder Pichai as CEO of Alphabet and Google.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Google — experts who break news about Google and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Google on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

Author

Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com

Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications