Google names UK and Ireland MD Eileen Naughton as head of people operations
Google’s managing director of its UK and Ireland business Eileen Naughton is its vice president of people operations worldwide.
Google names UK and Ireland MD Eileen Naughton as head of people operations.
She replaces Lazszio Bock, who has spent the last ten years shaping the culture of the internet behemoth. He moves to an advisory role, reporting to chief executive Sundar Pichai that will see him work with other companies and non-profit organisations.
Naughton, who is a founding member of the Women@ initiative, will now report to Ruth Porat, the chief financial officer of Google’s parent business Alphabet. In the ten years she has been at Google, Naughton helped establish the commercial side of the business in the US and most recently lead the business in the UK and Ireland.
She will move from the company’s London office to its Mountain View base.
Naughton said: "I consider it a privilege to take up this role, and especially so at Google. It’s a once-in-a-career opportunity, and a rare chance to help nurture Google’s culture of inclusion, respect, hijinks and innovation over the long term. These are the values that first attracted me to Google 10 years ago, and continue to inspire me today. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with the UK and Ireland teams and see how our work with customers has pushed for more creative and innovative marketing and helped our clients and agency partners grow their businesses."
Matt Brittin, who runs Google’s operations across EMEA, will lead the UK and Ireland in interim while the business searches for Naughton’s replacement. He added: "Within moments of arriving as MD of Google UK in 2014, Eileen was at home, rapidly building great relationships with customers, partners and the industry. She has been a much-loved and principled leader who helped everyone achieve personal and business growth and thrive as a team. So while we'll miss her dearly, we are exciting about her new role where she can bring her experience to Google around the world."