Alphabet, the parent of Google, announced in a Friday SEC filing that its chief legal officer David Drummond would leave the company Jan. 31. The news is the latest in a leadership shuffle at the tech giant: Google’s founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, said in December they would cede their top roles at the company to Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Drummond departs without an exit package, uncommon for executives of his rank.
CNBC published an email Drummond wrote to employees that read, “With Larry and Sergey 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.”
Controversy has marred Drummond’s recent years at the company. In August 2019, a senior contract manager accused Drummond, who joined Google in 2002, of violating company policy by having relationships with multiple female subordinates, including her, and that he neglected the son she had with him. Google employees worldwide had walked out of work in November 2018 to protest sexual harassment, and Alphabet shareholders sued the company in January 2019 for allegedly covering up sexual harassment by senior executives. Google paid Andy Rubin, the creator of the Android operating system, $90 million upon his departure despite an investigation that found he had sexually harassed female employees.
