London - Google has appointed Ruth Porat, chief financial officer at the Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley, to take over its finances.
Porat starts on May 26 and will replace Patrick Pichette, who abruptly announced his departure from Google earlier this month.
During her time on Wall Street, Porat had a key role in several large technology initial public offerings and fundraisings, and advised clients such as Amazon, Priceline and eBay during the dotcom boom years.
Barack Obama tried to lure Porat out of Wall Street and into Washington in 2013, offering her the position of Deputy Treasury Secretary. However, she is understood to have decided against leaving Morgan Stanley, in part due to her unwillingness to take part in the vetting process before US senators.
The American, who was born in Sale, just outside of Manchester, before moving to the United States as a child, will become one of the most powerful women in technology. A move to Mountain View, California, where Google is headquartered, is a return home for Porat as she is a graduate and board member of Stanford University.
Porat said: “I am delighted to be returning to my California roots... I can't wait to roll up my sleeves and get started.”
Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley has promoted Jonathan Pruzan to fill Porat's role.
The Independent