Following news that Larry Page and Sergey Brin were stepping down from their roles in the company, embattled legal chief David Drummond has announced his own retirement.
According to Bloomberg News, Drummond announced his plans in a note he sent to colleagues and that sets January 31 as his final day.
“I believe that it’s also the right time for me to make way for the next generation of leaders,” Drummond wrote in the note, a copy of which Bloomberg News saw.
Drummond has increasingly been in the spotlight of late, due to accusations of sexual misconduct. Drummond engaged in an extramarital affair with subordinate Jennifer Blakely, fathering a child with her. She has since accused him of abandoning her and the child, as well as repeatedly violating company policies governing workplace relationships.
As Bloomberg highlights, “Drummond has said the two went through a difficult breakup and that he ‘never started a relationship with anyone else who was working at Google or Alphabet,’” only to turn around and marry another Google employee in September.
In the wake of this and other scandals, Alphabet launched an investigation into how the company handles sexual misconduct allegations. Company watchers can’t help but wonder if the increasing scrutiny played a part in Drummond’s exit.