Bill Maris, the founder and CEO of Alphabet’s GV (formerly known as Google Ventures), is leaving the company.
GV is the venture capital investment arm of Alphabet, which was founded in 2009. GV has made investments in many companies such as ride-hailing service Uber, health food company Impossible Foods, discount online retailer Jet.com, which was recentlyacquired by Walmart for $3.3 billion, and more.
During an interview with Recode, Maris revealed that he had spent about eight years in GV and he is leaving to spend time with his family.
“I have an 11-month-old son and a wife. And I legitimately want to spend more time with them. It’s mission accomplished for me. Eight years is longer than I thought I would spend,” says Maris. “GV is seen as a premier venture capital operation around the world. If it weren’t in great shape, that would be the wrong time to leave. I’m leaving because everything is great.”
When asked if he was leaving because of changes in Google and Alphabet, Maris suggested that the restructuring had little impact on GV.
David Krane, the managing partner at GV, will replace Maris. Krane served as the director of global communications and public affairs at Google for about 10 years before joining GV in 2010. Krane was promoted to the position of managing director of GV about two years ago and he is expected to be the permanent CEO of the company.
“I’m so proud of the GV team and the work we’ve done together. I’m excited to see what they do from here,”says Maris. “GV is in great hands and I’m looking forward to a little time off and seeing what the future holds.”
GV’s focus on five sectors namely life sciences, consumer, enterprise, robotics data and artificial intelligence will not change under Krane. However, Krane is expected to increase GV’s investments in consumer products and services.
In the last few months, several high-profile Alphabet executives have parted ways with the company.
Tony Fadell, the founder and CEO of home-automation unit Nest, left Alphabet in June.
Chris Urmson, the chief technology officer and former director of Google’s self-driving car division, left the project at a very crucial juncture. Urmson did not give a clear reason of leaving the organization.
Maris says that he does not have any new career plan as yet. However, TechCrunch cites sources familiar with the matter and reports that Maris has several ideas, but will take some time off to recharge.
[Source: Techtimnes]
