In 2018, thousands of Google employees took matters into their own hands by walking out of work to protest the company's handling of sexual misconduct claims.
As a result, the company said in November that its board was investigating sexual misconduct cases against executives. One of those was David Drummond, legal chief of Google’s parent company, Alphabet.
According to Fox Business, “The board investigation followed lawsuits brought by shareholders after reports of sexual harassment at Google received national attention.”
Drummond will be leaving at the end of the month following accusations of inappropriate relationships with employees, though Alphabet did not give a reason for his departure in a short regulatory filing on Friday.
Jennifer Blakey published a report detailing her relationship with Drummond last August, one that he has since acknowledged. However, in a previous statement issued at that time, Drummond said that he “never started” a relationship with anyone else at Alphabet.
While Drummond’s departure will not come with an exit package, he was one of the company's highest-paid employees. His compensation package for 2018 was worth $47 million.
"[With Larry Page and Sergey Brin] Now leaving their executive roles at Alphabet,” Drummond mentioned about the founders in a memo sent to employees, “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.”
Drummond joined Google in 2002 full-time and was named chief legal officer in 2006. He said Page and Brin first asked for his help more than 20 years ago when Google and Alphabet were just an unincorporated startup.
“Drummond's departure comes as Alphabet, like other big tech companies, faces regulatory pressures around the world,” Fox Business mentions. “ Last March, Europe’s antitrust regulators ordered it to pay 1.49 billion euros ($1.7 billion) for freezing out rivals in the online advertising business.
It also faces antitrust probes in the U.S. as lawmakers question its power and dominance.”
