Earlier quoted context omitted.
Reputational risk does affect the supply of viable CEO candidates (here we are deriding Pichai for perceived Google failures), but it’s far from the only factor. The main reason CEO total comp is so high in big companies is to align the CEO with the interests of shareholders. Something the layoffs with likely also aligned with.
Comp doesn't have to be high to be aligned. The reason it is so high is because of the massive risk and uncertainty of replacing a CEO. There are thousands of people at Google who would be perfectly fine CEOs and be willing to do it for small fraction of what Sundar Pichai costs, but how do you find them? Hiring is such an inexact process that there's a large chance that the guy you chose won't be one of those compet…
Sundar Pichai received $226M compensation, boosted by a triennial stock grant
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Re: Sundar Pichai received $226M compensation, boosted by a triennial stock grant
#62Same story at Meta where people in the C-suite got very high bonus and equity refresher based on outstanding individual performance. You'd expect them to be somehow accountable. The common answer there was that they did well at their job, and aren't responsible for decisions leading to the layoffs. And nobody is responsible. Basically, it was right to hire so many employees (good economic prospects) and then it was r…
Re: Sundar Pichai received $226M compensation, boosted by a triennial stock grant
#63Re: Sundar Pichai received $226M compensation, boosted by a triennial stock grant
#64Now they can safely siphon the profits for another several years until they inevitably drive the company into the ground when the ad revenue dries up, and they move to similar positions at other places with healthy revenue streams.
And the rank-and-file Googlers will defend this because they think they caught God by the ankles with their 150k/year salary, that they feel they don't deserve because of their impostor syndrome.
Re: Sundar Pichai received $226M compensation, boosted by a triennial stock grant
#65CEO received compensation for good cost-cutting measures? What am I missing here?
CEO made bad decisions that many other companies avoided. CEO panicked and fired thousands unprofessionally. CEO received record compensation.
i don't think sundar is a good ceo, but this absolutely false. most big tech companies also had layovers.
Re: Sundar Pichai received $226M compensation, boosted by a triennial stock grant
#66I simply don’t see what good this CEO has done. He’s destroyed googles reputation with developers. Destroyed customer trust in Google products. Done nothing to fix googles reputation for terrible customer service. Led Google to third place in cloud computing. AND been thrashed by Microsoft / ChatGPT, putting Googles core business at risk. Why is this guy CEO?
Re: Sundar Pichai received $226M compensation, boosted by a triennial stock grant
#67I simply don’t see what good this CEO has done. He’s destroyed googles reputation with developers. Destroyed customer trust in Google products. Done nothing to fix googles reputation for terrible customer service. Led Google to third place in cloud computing. AND been thrashed by Microsoft / ChatGPT, putting Googles core business at risk. Why is this guy CEO?
Did he make them money?
The advertising cash firehose is perhaps the only thing that matters at Google.
But, having been severely caned by ChatGPT and left flat footed on AI i think it’s reasonable to say even that firehose is now at risk.
Re: Sundar Pichai received $226M compensation, boosted by a triennial stock grant
#68Re: Sundar Pichai received $226M compensation, boosted by a triennial stock grant
#69I simply don’t see what good this CEO has done. He’s destroyed googles reputation with developers. Destroyed customer trust in Google products. Done nothing to fix googles reputation for terrible customer service. Led Google to third place in cloud computing. AND been thrashed by Microsoft / ChatGPT, putting Googles core business at risk. Why is this guy CEO?
Re: Sundar Pichai received $226M compensation, boosted by a triennial stock grant
#70The upper management at Google are so lucky that the company is filled with timid people who are averse to change and didn't unionize. Now they can safely siphon the profits for another several years until they inevitably drive the company into the ground when the ad revenue dries up, and they move to similar positions at other places with healthy revenue streams. And the rank-and-file Googlers will defend this becau…
But I happen to think your right that the employer/worker balance has tipped way too far in favor of the employer in the last half-Century.