Google gets new CFO

By Jake Keaveny

NEW YORK : Google, which has become the standard for searching the Internet, said it hired a chief financial officer, filling a key vacancy in the three-and-a-half-year-old company's management team. The company hired George Reyes, 48, a former financial officer at Sun Microsystems Inc. At Sun, Reyes worked next to Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, who was then the chief technology officer.

In a brief telephone conversation, Reyes said he'd been working for Google for two weeks, though wouldn't elaborate on his first priorities with the company. Market watchers have been waiting for Google to fill the post because it was seen as a hurdle to listing its shares on a stock exchange. Since being created by two Stanford students in 1998 -- founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin -- Google has swiftly grown to become one of the world's most used search engines.

Spokesman David Krane said the company has no immediate plans to launch an initial public offering. Google stands out because it's one of the few Internet companies that have quickly become profitable. The company hasn't released its financial statements, but says it has earned profits for six consecutive quarters.

In an era of failed technology ventures, Google seems to be a sure thing for its backers. California venture capital funds Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital led a $25 million financing round in June of 1999. Other investors include Stanford University and Andy Bechtolsheim, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems.

Reyes, a native Cuban who came to the U.S. at age 3, worked at Sun for 14 years. He left Sun as vice president and treasurer to become interim chief financial officer at fiber optic company ONI Systems Corp, before Ciena Corp acquired it in June.

Google spokesman Krane said the company expects to draw on Reyes' experience in international markets, which is considered a growth area for the company. Google, which says it is the fourth most visited site behind AOL, MSN and Yahoo, earns its revenue from online advertising and licensing its search technology. Among company's that use its search technology are AOL Time Warner, Yahoo Inc and AskJeeves.com.

(Additional reporting by Eric Auchard and Jeffrey Goldfarb)

© Reuters