Google Executive Turnover and Role Changes Come as the Company Searches for New Identity

Key members of Google’s old guard are changing roles or leaving the company searching for his new identity. From a report: The changes include high-profile executives such as CFO Ruth Porath, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and No. 8 employee Urs Holzle, among others. Some say they left their roles for a new challenge, while others left to pursue opportunities in artificial intelligence. In February, Wojcicki — one of the most prominent women in Silicon Valley — announced she was stepping down after nine years at the helm of the Google-owned platform, which has become the world’s most popular video service. She was at Google for more than 25 years after giving her garage to Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page to use as their first office.

Although she will still be in an advisory role at Google, she said she wants to “start a new chapter.” Wojcicki wasn’t the only executive to leave YouTube. Robert Kinkle, chief business officer for 12 years, stepped down to become chief executive of Warner Music Group at the start of the year. In March, CapitalG founder and longtime Googler David Lowy stepped down from his post after 17 years at Alphabet, saying he wanted to explore new areas of interest and spend more time with his family