Fresh off of the approval by both the E.C. and U.S. for the acquisition of Motorola, Google is making news again by suggesting who will take the reigns of hardware company when the deal is all said and done. As this is common in most acquisitions it comes as no surprise that Google is looking to shake things up with a new CEO. Gone will be the current reigning Sanjay Jha and in his place we will see Dennis Woodside. It was previously rumored that Google would be appointing Nikesh Arora as CEO and Woodside would take Arora’s position, however this move completely surpasses Arora’s involvement.
Woodside has been with Google since 2003 where he’s held various positions that include, Director of Business Operations, Managing Director of Emerging Markets, Managing Director and VP of Google UK, President of Google Americas, and Senior Vice President of Google. The most recent position he held was to oversee the acquisition and report directly to Larry Page.
Some see this as a good move by Google. Omid Kordestani, SVP, Global Sales & Business Development, had this to say about Woodside:
“Ever since I met Dennis in 2003, I have been impressed by his combination of entrepreneurialism and operational excellence. He’s never afraid to try new things and always ready to roll up his sleeves and pitch in.”
However other’s feel differently about Google changing things up. Motorola VP Marty Cooper told the Verge in an interview that Motorola should be left alone after the deal is closed. Marty said:
“As soon as Google starts treating them like their child and puts constraints on them, they’re going to have trouble competing.”
There isn’t definitive word on what role Sanjay would play but if The Times of India is correct he will be right along side Woodside helping him out. There also isn’t word about how Mr. Jha feels about this move but it’s reported that he will be receiving $66 Million as compensation. My guess is that he won’t be entirely too hurt by the move. It will be interesting to see how this shake up affects the merger and what Woodside has to offer the company. More news as this story develops. Stay tuned!
source: Bloomberg
via: Android and Me