Google Exec Exodus Continues

Ok, so exodus may be a bit strong but it got your attention right? What is certain though is Google is leaking some big executives. If you have ever worked in a corporate environment, be it large or small, these kind of changes can indicate either concerns with how the company is going or opportunity for new ideas and new spirit to be injected. Regardless of the real reasons which may never be known anyway it does cause disruptions in the course of normal business that more often hurt than help.

The latest big name to leave is Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, Google’s president for Asia-Pacific (APAC) & Latin American Operations. She has departed for Accel Partners, a Silicon Valley VC that has invested in the likes of Facebook. As reported at VentureBeat

Singh Cassidy will join Accel in a position known as “CEO-in-Residence,” where she’ll help Accel’s portfolio companies and have the option to study to become a chief executive of one of Accel’s future companies.

Sounds like a pretty neat opportunity when you get to choose which company you may eventually lead.

So why the parade of executives exiting the Googleplex for the last time? If there was ever a chance for wild eyed speculation this is it. Just a few weeks ago Tim Armstrong, left Google’s top sales position to lead the good ship AOL. Also, VentureBeat reported that yesterday Google’s director of Latin America, Gonzalo Alonso left for greener pastures.

So Google has recently lost top talent in major positions around the world, with the Latin America operations bleeding a little more than the others. What does it mean for the company that many are looking to help pull this economy out of the ditch? In the short term, you would expect business as usual. It’s the next generation of the company’s expansion and ability to innovate that is really in flux.

While Google hating is popular around the globe there may be some discord within the walls of the company itself. The reality is that Google has been dealing with these defections for as long as they have been as powerful as they are. With so many alpha dogs running around the company it seems natural that not everyone will be satisfied and want to move on. What the Google watchers of the world need to pay close attention to is how many times it happens and if the powers that remain at Google can replace these defections with equal or better talent.