Google just hired Morgan Stanley finance chief Ruth Porat as its new CFO
Google has named a replacement for departing finance chief Patrick Pichette.
Ruth Porat will leave her role as finance chief at Morgan Stanley to fill Pichette’s shoes after the long-standing executive revealed he was departing the internet giant just under two weeks ago.
Investors responded positively to the news – shares were up by around two per cent in early trading.
Porat brings some major credentials to the Google table from Morgan Stanley where she has been since 1987. That includes:
- She formerly held the roles of vice chairman of investment banking, global head of the financial institutions group and co-head of technology investment banking at Morgan Stanley
- She led the bank’s team advising the US Treasury on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the New York Federal Reserve Bank on AIG
- The Stanford, Wharton and London School of Economics grad was lead banker on finance rounds for the likes of Amazon, eBay, Netscape, Priceline and Verisign, as well as Blackstone Group, GE and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
The 57-year-old is also a member of the US Treasury's borrowing advisory committee and a member of the Advisory Council of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution.
“We’re tremendously fortunate to have found such a creative, experienced and operationally strong executive,” said Google chief Larry Page. “I look forward to learning from Ruth as we continue to innovate in our core – from search and ads, to Android, Chrome and YouTube – as well as invest in a thoughtful, disciplined way in our next generation of big bets. Finally, huge thanks to Patrick Pichette for his seven super successful years as CFO.”
"I’m delighted to be returning to my California roots and joining Google,” said Ruth Porat. “Growing up in Silicon Valley, during my time at Morgan Stanley and as a member of Stanford’s Board, I’ve had the opportunity to experience first hand how tech companies can help people in their daily lives. I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and get started.”
Over at Morgan Stanley, global co-head of the financial institutions group Jonathan Pruzan will step up to the newly vacant CFO position.