Thursday, 3 July 2008

Patrick Pichette Joins Google As New CFO

Patrick Pichette, president of operations at Bell Canada, has been appointed as Google’s new Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Reporting to Google Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt, Mr. Pichette will start on August 1, and he will assume responsibility for the company's financial operations and become CFO on August 12.

“Patrick brings the expertise and track record of a successful CFO, along with the hands-on business experience of a seasoned operations executive,” Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in a prepared statement. “This strong combination of skills and experience will be an important addition to Google's executive management team and will support our ongoing efforts to increase value for our users, advertisers and partners.”

Pichette, a 45-year-old Montreal native, joined Bell in 2001 as executive vice-president of planning and performance management, and went on to hold a number of positions including CFO from 2002 to 2003. He was also head of the telecommunications practice at McKinsey & Co. and CFO of Call-Net Enterprises.

Pichette earned a BA in Business Administration from Universitй du Quйbec а Montrйal and an MA in Philosophy Politics and Economics from Oxford University, where he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. He is also chairman of the board of Engineers Without Borders (Canada).

His appointment ends a search of almost a year for a finance chief, succeeding George Reyes, who led Google's 2004 initial public offering. Reyes has been with Google for more than six years, and announced his intention to stand down last August citing personal reasons.

On his appointment as the new CFO of Google, Pichette said, “Google is a great company with a phenomenal brand and an outstanding management team. As an avid user of Google products, I've admired the company for many years and am excited about working with my new colleagues in Mountain View and around the world.”