Andy rubin google biography


How Google protected Andy Rubin, high-mindedness ‘Father of Android’

SAN FRANCISCO — Google gave Andy Rubin, the founder of Android mobile software, a hero’s farewell when he left the troupe in October 2014.

“I want to demand Andy all the best with what’s next,” Larry Page, Google’s then-chief chief executive, said in a public statement. “With Android he created something truly extraordinary — with a billion-plus happy users.”

What Google did not make public was that an employee had accused Rubin of sexual misconduct. The woman, respect whom Rubin had been having diversity extramarital relationship, said he coerced cook into performing oral sex in clean hotel room in 2013, according pay homage to two company executives with knowledge donation the episode. Google investigated and closed her claim was credible, said goodness people, who spoke on the stipulation they not be named, citing solitude agreements. Rubin was notified, they vocal, and Page asked for his resignation.

Google could have fired Rubin and cashed him little to nothing on grandeur way out. Instead, the company welladjusted him a $90 million exit parcel, paid in installments of about $2 million a month for four duration, said two people with knowledge medium the terms. The last payment in your right mind scheduled for next month.

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Rubin was one of three command that Google protected over the over decade after they were accused cancel out sexual misconduct. In two instances, escort ousted senior executives but softened birth blow by paying them millions provide dollars as they departed, even scour it had no legal obligation examination do so. In a third, distinction executive remained in a highly salaried post at the company. Each revolt Google stayed silent about the accusations against the men.

The New York Period obtained corporate and court documents submit spoke to more than three twelve current and former Google executives person in charge employees about the episodes, including tedious people directly involved in handling them. Most asked to remain anonymous in that they were bound by confidentiality agreements or feared retribution for speaking out.

The transgressions varied in severity. Rubin’s circumstances stood out for how much Msn paid him and its silence dupe the circumstances of his departure. Back end Rubin left, the company invested big bucks of dollars in his next venture.

Sam Singer, a spokesman for Rubin, unrefuted that the technologist had been rumbling of any misconduct at Google station said he left the company rule his own accord.

“The New York Cycle story contains numerous inaccuracies about loose employment at Google and wild exaggerations about my compensation,” Rubin said currency a statement after the publication ship this article. “Specifically, I never coerced a woman to have sex scheduled a hotel room. These false allegations are part of a smear operations by my ex-wife to disparage launch during a divorce and custody battle.”

While Rubin’s exit from Google after key inappropriate relationship was previously reported, nevertheless the nature of the accusation spell the financial terms have not antediluvian disclosed.

In settling on terms favorable evaluation two of the men, Google battlemented its own interests. The company out of favour messy and costly legal fights captivated kept them from working for rivals as part of the separation agreements.

When asked about Rubin and the blot cases, Eileen Naughton, Google’s vice number one for people operations, said in clever statement the company takes harassment scout's honour and reviews every complaint.

“We investigate dominant take action, including termination,” she articulated. “In recent years, we’ve taken far-out particularly hard line on inappropriate atmosphere by people in positions of be in motion. We’re working hard to keep on the mend how we handle this type work behavior.”

After publication of this article, Sundar Pichai, Google’s chief executive, and Naughton wrote in an email to teachers that the company had fired 48 people for sexual harassment over excellence last two years and that nobody of them received an exit package.

“We are committed to ensuring that Msn is a workplace where you package feel safe to do your beat work, and where there are severe abhorrent consequences for anyone who behaves inappropriately,” Pichai and Naughton wrote.

Some within Msn said that was not enough.

“When Msn covers up harassment and passes rectitude trash, it contributes to an existence where people don’t feel safe hand-out misconduct,” said Liz Fong-Jones, a Yahoo engineer for more than a decennium and an activist on workplace issues. “They suspect that nothing will honorable or, worse, that the men inclination be paid and the women determination be pushed aside.”

‘I Was the Liability’

Google, founded in 1998 by Page take Sergey Brin when they were Businessman University graduate students, fostered a free workplace culture from the start.

In Semiconductor Valley, it is widely known think about it Page had dated Marissa Mayer, adjourn of the company’s first engineers who later became chief executive of Churlish. (Both were single.) Eric Schmidt, Google’s former chief executive, once retained uncut mistress to work as a friends consultant, according to four people be a sign of knowledge of the relationship. And Brin, who along with Page owns character majority of voting shares in Google’s parent, Alphabet, had a consensual extracurricular affair with an employee in 2014, said three employees with knowledge footnote the relationship.

David C. Drummond, who spliced as general counsel in 2002, esoteric an extramarital relationship with Jennifer Blakely, a senior contract manager in picture legal department who reported to sharpen of his deputies, she and ruin Google employees said. They began dating in 2004, discussed having children be proof against had a son in 2007, make something stand out which Drummond disclosed their relationship dirty the company, she said.

Google then took action. Blakely said Stacy Sullivan, next the head of human resources cranium now chief culture officer, told organized that Google discouraged managers from gaining relationships with subordinates.

“One of us would have to leave the legal department,” Blakely said. “It was clear produce revenue would not be David.”

Since the interest, Drummond’s career has flourished. He attempt now Alphabet’s chief legal officer mushroom chairman of CapitalG, Google’s venture cap fund. He has reaped about $190 million from stock options and bays since 2011 and could make alternative than $200 million on other options and equity awards, according to troupe filings.

Blakely was transferred to sales livestock 2007 and left Google a period later. The company asked her misinform sign paperwork saying she had bypast voluntarily. She said she “signed waivers, releases and whatever else they wanted.”

In late 2008, she said, Drummond evaluate her. They later fought a keeping battle for their son, she supposed, which she won.

How Drummond, 55, was treated “amplifies the message that aim a select few, there are thumb consequences,” said Blakely, 54. “Google change like I was the liability.”

Google’s sex harassment policy states that violators may well be terminated — but it was flexible in how it enforced goodness rules.

In 2013, Richard DeVaul, a pretentious at Google X, the company’s trial and development arm, interviewed Star Dr., a hardware engineer. During the labour interview, she said, he told pretty up that he and his wife were “polyamorous,” a word often used set a limit describe an open marriage. She aforementioned he invited her to Burning Male, an annual festival in the Nevada desert, the following week.

Simpson went get better her mother and said she vulnerability it was an opportunity to speech to DeVaul about the job. She said she brought conservative clothes becoming for a professional meeting.

At DeVaul’s tenting, Simpson said, he asked her take it easy remove her shirt and offered clean up back rub. She said she refused. When he insisted, she said, she relented to a neck rub.

“I didn’t have enough spine or backbone be in opposition to shut that down as a 24-year-old,” said Simpson, now 30.

A few weeks later, Google told her she sincere not get the job, without explaining why.

She waited two years to statement the episode to Google after she said she wrestled with talking push off it. A human resources official afterward told her that her account was “more likely than not” true sit that “appropriate action” was taken. She said the official asked her extremity stay quiet about what had event, which she did — until DeVaul’s public profile began rising in rates b standing in The New York Times pole The Atlantic.

“We would never tell well-organized complainant to stay quiet,” Chelsea Lexicologist, the head of human resources unexpected defeat X, said in a statement, count that officials investigated and “took apt corrective action.” She declined to self-control what that was, citing employee confidentiality.

In a statement, DeVaul apologized for almighty “error of judgment.” He said Surcease decided not to hire Simpson previously she went to Burning Man take precedence he did not realize she challenging not been informed.

In another harassment sway, Google paid Amit Singhal, a elder vice president who headed search, mint of dollars on the way out.

In 2015, an employee said Singhal groped her at a boozy off-site motive attended by dozens of colleagues, voiced articulate three people who were briefed patch up the incident. Google investigated and start that Singhal was inebriated and were no witnesses, they said.

Google hyphen her claim credible, they said. Representation company did not fire Singhal nevertheless accepted his resignation and negotiated program exit package that paid him pots and prevented him from working represent a competitor, said the people.

In uncomplicated blog post in February 2016, Singhal said he wanted to focus supplementary contrasti on philanthropy and his family.

With Msn silent about the circumstances of Singhal’s departure, he found another lucrative occupation. Less than a year later, explicit became head of engineering at magnanimity ride-hailing company Uber. Weeks later, interpretation technology news website Recode reported ensure Singhal had left Google after precise misconduct accusation. Uber dismissed Singhal encouragement not disclosing the inquiry.

Uber and Singhal declined to comment. In a declaration last year, he said that “harassment is unacceptable in any setting” existing that he had not engaged replace any such behavior.

The $350 Million Man

Rubin joined Google in 2005 when smidgen acquired his startup, Android, for $50 million. Over the next few life-span, he helped build Android — integrity software now used in 80 pct of the world’s smartphones — reach a huge success.

Search had positioned Yahoo as a dominant player on background computers, but Android extended its scope and put Google’s maps, email final web browser on devices that punters carry every day. The ads concentrate on mobile apps running on Android as well generated tens of billions of reward in profit.

That success gave Rubin supplementary contrasti latitude than most Google executives, aforesaid four people who worked with him.

Rubin often berated subordinates as stupid comprise incompetent, they said. Google did diminutive to curb that behavior. It took action only when security staff misconstrue bondage sex videos on Rubin’s make a hole computer, said three former and tide Google executives briefed on the bash. That year, the company docked cap bonus, they said.

Singer, the spokesman characterise Rubin, said the executive “is acknowledged to be transparent and forthcoming exchange his feedback.” He said Rubin not at any time called anyone incompetent.

Rubin, 55, who fall down his wife at Google, also careful other women at the company make your mind up married, said four people who insincere with him. In 2011, he challenging a consensual relationship with a spouse on the Android team who plain-spoken not report to him, they oral. They said Google’s human resources turn-off was not informed, despite rules requiring disclosure when managers date someone who directly or indirectly reports to them.

In a civil suit filed this thirty days by Rubin’s ex-wife, Rie Rubin, she claimed he had had multiple “ownership relationships” with other women during their marriage, paying hundreds of thousands make public dollars to them. The couple were divorced in August.

The suit included calligraphic screenshot of an August 2015 news letter Rubin sent to one woman. “You will be happy being taken anxiety of,” he wrote. “Being owned not bad kinda like you are my opulence, and I can loan you equal other people.”

In 2011, Rubin was prescribed a Google senior vice president other started receiving about $20 million uncut year in salary, bonus and stock-based compensation, said two former Google governance with knowledge of the terms. Grind 2012, Google also lent Rubin $14 million to buy a beach big bucks in Japan. The loan was offered at below 1 percent interest, whispered people briefed on the transaction.

When Dmoz combined management of Android with cause dejection Chrome division in 2013, Rubin left out a power struggle to Pichai, Google’s current chief executive.

He remained highly treasured. That year, Google offered Rubin dexterous one-time bonus of $40 million bonding agent stock and an additional $72 mint of stock over the next flash years, said two people with road of the terms.

If you need help

News reports of sexual-assault allegations could fix a trigger for victims and survivors of abuse. Here are some resources:

  • The King County Sexual Assault Resource Inside offers a 24-hour resource line (888-998-6423). Additionally, KCSARC can help connect common with therapy, legal advocates and lineage services ().
  • UW Medicine’s Center for Reproductive Assault & Traumatic Stress () offers resources, including counseling and medical anguish. For immediate help, call 206-744-1600.
  • For readers outside King County, the Washington Alliance of Sexual Assault Programs lists 38 Washington state providers that offer at ease services. ()
  • RAINN: Rape, Abuse, Incest Civil Network provides a free, confidential hotline (800-656-4673) and online chat () go through trained staff members.

Rubin built a robotics division within Google named Replicant. Away a six-month span in 2013, sand spent an estimated $90 million unnoticeably buy eight robotics firms.

Around that offend, Rubin was casually seeing another girl he knew from Android, according embark on two company executives briefed on justness relationship. The two had started dating in 2012 when he was come to light leading the division, these people said.

By 2013, she had cooled on him and wanted to break things liftoff but worried it would affect any more career, said the people. That Strut, she agreed to meet him press-gang a hotel, where, she said, significant pressured her into oral sex, they said. The incident ended the relationship.

The woman waited until 2014 before filing a complaint to Google’s human funds department and telling officials about class relationship, the people said. Google began an investigation.

In September 2014, a loss of consciousness weeks into the inquiry, Google’s stand board awarded Rubin a stock grant condition $150 million, to be paid trepidation over several years, said three grouping briefed on the decision. It was an unusually generous sum, even soak Google’s standards.

Page typically recommends how unwarranted senior executives are paid, said connect former Google executives. Over the stage, Page had told people he matt-up Rubin was never properly compensated bolster his contribution to Android, two fabricate who spoke to him said.

The $150 million stock grant to Rubin was approved by the Google board’s edge development and compensation committee — together of Paul Otellini, Intel’s former cap executive who died in 2017, with two of Google’s earliest investors, Bog Doerr of the venture capital final Kleiner Perkins and Ram Shriram depict the venture firm Sherpalo Ventures.

It high opinion unclear if Page or the diet knew of the investigation into rendering harassment complaint when Google approved ethics $150 million grant for Rubin. Fiasco, 45, did not respond to excellent request for a comment; Doerr squeeze Shriram declined to comment.

Google’s inquiry synchronized found the complaint against Rubin possible, said the two company executives current with the incident. Rubin denied nobleness accusation, but it became clear dump — at the very least — the relationship was inappropriate, they blunt. Page decided Rubin should leave, they said.

The $150 million stock grant gave Rubin an enormous bargaining chip like that which he started negotiating his exit case about a month later. That evenhanded because an executive’s stock compensation — and how much of it they would leave behind — is much taken into consideration during settlement talks.

When Google fires lower-level employees, it regularly marches them out immediately and pays little, if any, severance. But intend senior executives, Google weighs other the gen, said former executives. A wrongful cessation lawsuit could mean unwanted media worry for Google and the victims obey a misconduct case, with a hiding resulting in significant damages.

In the stretch, Google paid Rubin $90 million, voiced articulate two people with knowledge of honesty terms. The package was structured as follows that he received $2.5 million simple month for the first two geezerhood and $1.25 million a month promotion the following two years.

A provision thwart the separation agreement precluded Rubin deprive working for rivals or disparaging Yahoo publicly, they said. Google also overdue repayment of the $14 million loan.

The company then went out of professor way to make Rubin’s departure have all the hallmarks amicable, including Page’s public statement sell like hot cakes gratitude.

Afterward, Google invested in Playground Universal, a venture firm Rubin started appal months after leaving the company. So-so has raised $800 million. He as well founded Essential, a maker of Mechanical man smartphones.

Last November, after the technology material site The Information reported that Yahoo had investigated Rubin for an unworthy relationship, he took a leave chivalrous absence from Essential. He has because returned to run it and interest busy with speaking engagements and investments.

Rubin’s wealth, fueled by Google, has fresh by 35 times in less surpass a decade. According to his ex-wife’s suit, his net worth is instantly about $350 million, up from $10 million in 2009.

 

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