Google parent’s top lawyer quits amid sexual misconduct probe

By: Nicholas V.

Alphabet’s top lawyer announced he is leaving the company he helped build amid an investigation into his relationships with other staffers.

David Drummond, the 56-year-old chief legal officer of Google’s parent company, will leave the search giant at the end of the month, according to a note he sent to colleagues.

And despite having been with the tech giant for 18 years, Drummond is not receiving an exit package, a spokeswoman confirmed.

In his letter, Drummond claims he is going to “retire,” and cites the recent decision of Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to step back from operational roles as factoring into his decision to also jump ship.

“With Larry and Sergey now leaving their executive roles at Alphabet, 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 wrote. “As a result, after careful consideration, I have decided to retire at the end of this month.”

But the departure also comes just months after it emerged that Alphabet’s board of directors opened an investigation into Drummond after a stunning blog post by a former underling who accused him of regularly ignoring the tech giant’s rules around romantic relationships.

Drummond not only failed to tell his superiors about his extramarital affair with Jennifer Blakely, who worked under him, he then left her for a co-worker a year after they had a child together, Blakely claimed in her August blog post on Medium.

Drummond then had an affair with his “personal assistant,” followed by yet another subordinate from the legal department, Blakely said.

At the time, Drummond admitted to a “difficult” breakup with Blakely, but denied having “started a relationship with anyone else who was working at Google or Alphabet.” A week later, he married Corinne Dixon, who also works in Google’s legal department, but who does not report directly to Drummond.

The lawyer last week dumped $77 million worth of Alphabet stock, according to SEC filings, and had dumped more than an additional $100 million in the previous two months.

Aside from confirming Drummond’s departure and his lack of an exit package, Google declined to comment.

In 2018, Google made headlines for eye-popping severance packages it has paid to three executives accused of sexual misconduct — including a $90 million golden parachute for Android creator Andy Rubin.