Facebook Lures Away Another Google Exec
“The migration of Google employees to Facebook continues.”
Facebook Inc. on Tuesday lured away Ethan Beard, Google’s director of social media, a second high-ranking executive in less than a month, to serve as new director of business development at the Palo Alto, California, company, according to an e-mailed statement.
“Beard’s departure follows in the footsteps of ex-Googler Sheryl Sandberg, who started Monday as Facebook’s chief operating officer.”
“While Ethan will be missed, we have the internal expertise necessary to execute on our goals,” Google spokesman Jon Murchison said in an e-mailed statement.
Facebook is strengthening its management to help founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, 23, handle an increase in advertising on the site.
The company, which is growing faster than larger rival MySpace, appointed former Google executive Sheryl Sandberg on March 4 to be its chief operating officer. She had been Google’s vice president of global online sales.
“The number of Facebook visitors has multiplied over the past year.”
The move underlines employee restlessness at the company ranked by Fortune as the No. 1 place to work. Google’s once-bright promise of stock option riches has long faded, as the company’s stock price now languishes at 40 percent below its 52-week high of $747. That has Google’s ranks looking for the next big thing in Silicon Valley.
But there are also accounts of dejected Facebook users deleting their accounts. The New York Times reported last month that Facebook was moving to make it easier for users to delete their accounts.
Prior to joining Mountain View, California-based Google, Beard was director of business development at Viacom Inc.’s MTV/VH1 unit. He also worked at investing firms Silicon Alley Venture Partners and Fountainhead Capital, according to the Web site for Big Internet Group LLC, a company that Beard helped start.
Facebook has 500 employees and $100 million in annual revenue, compared to the Mountain View-based Google’s 17,000 employees and $16 billion in annual revenue.