In A Coup For Google, Morgan Stanley’s Ruth Porat To Become New CFO

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Google announced this morning that current Morgan Stanley CFO will join Google, replacing Patrick Pichette who was Google’s second CFO and served the company for roughly seven years. Porat will start at the end of May.

Porat has degrees from Stanford, Wharton and the London School of Economics. At one point she was being considered by the White House for the position of Assistant Treasury Secretary but reportedly withdrew her name from consideration because of the potentially bruising confirmation process.

Having grown up in California, Porat said in the Google press release that she was “delighted to be returning” to her “California roots.”

This is a coup for Google, who in Porat will not simply get a highly qualified CFO but a dynamic, creative and ambitious member of its executive team. The fact that she’s a woman also helps Google, during a time of heavy criticism regarding alleged gender bias and discrimination at major Silicon Valley companies.

Porat’s departure from Wall Street is also being seen as symbolic of the ongoing power shift from New York to the West Coast, as technology companies become more important and exercise more influence over the economy and culture of the nation. Former Morgan Stanley colleague and friend Mary Meeker also left Wall Street for Silicon Valley in roughly 2012, becoming a partner at embattled investment firm Kleiner Perkins.

One analyst speaking on Bloomberg Business TV also suggested that Porat might have been tired of her role and responsibilities on Wall Street and was looking for something more expansive that would allow her to explore her broader ambitions.