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Microsoft exec joins Google

Elinor Mills Former Staff Writer
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service and the Associated Press.
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Elinor Mills
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Another Microsoft executive has departed for Google. Vic Gundotra, former general manager for platform evangelism, is taking a year off to do philanthropy and then joining Google, the companies confirmed on Thursday.

"Mr. Gundotra has resigned from Microsoft and entered into an agreement with Google," Google said in a statement. "Though the financial arrangements are confidential, he will not be a Google employee for one year and intends to spend that time on philanthropic pursuits. We are uncertain what precise role he will play when he begins working for Google, but he has a broad range of skills and experience which we believe will be valuable to Google."

"We certainly appreciate Vic's contributions here and wish him well," said Microsoft spokesman Tom Pilla.

Gundotra, a 15-year Microsoft employee, gave notice last Friday and is already packed and out the door, according to Pilla. He was responsible for getting outside developers to build software on the Windows and .NET platforms.

Other noteworthy former Microsoft employees who are now at Google are Adam Bosworth, who left his job as BEA Systems chief architect to be a vice president of engineering at Google in July 2004. Before that, he was a senior manager at Microsoft where he worked on XML and Microsoft Access PC Database.

And , a top operating system engineer, left Microsoft last year to go to Google.

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced the abrupt departure of Martin Taylor, a key adviser to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Taylor did not go to Google and it was unknown where he would be employed, and why he left.

Google has hired a veritable who's who of technologists and other notables, including Internet architect Vint Cerf; award-winning physician Dr. Larry Brilliant; Andy Hertzfeld, who worked on Apple Computer's original Macintosh; and Udi Manber, formerly chief executive of Amazon's A9 online search unit.

One of the company's Microsoft recruits landed Google in court, although the case was eventually settled--Kai-Fu Lee. Microsoft sued Google after Lee was named president of Google China last July.