Google ropes in Morgan Stanley CFO Ruth Porat

I look forward to learning from Ruth as we continue to innovate, says Larry Page

Google has roped in Morgan Stanley Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat to head the the finance operations of world's largest search engine company.

Porat will start at Google as CFO on May 26, reporting to Google CEO and Co-Founder, Larry Page, it said in a statement.

"I look forward to learning from Ruth as we continue to innovate in our core-from search and ads, to Android, Chrome and YouTube-as well as invest in a thoughtful, disciplined way in our next generation of big bets," Page said.

Porat will succeed Patrick Pichette, who announced his plans to retire from the global tech giant earlier this month.

She joined Morgan Stanley in 1987 and has played several key roles at the company, including Vice Chairman of Investment Banking, Global Head of the Financial Institutions Group and co-Head of Technology Investment Banking.

Throughout the financial crisis, she led the Morgan Stanley teams advising the US Treasury on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the New York Federal Reserve Bank on AIG.

Porat has been the lead banker on numerous technology financing rounds, including for Amazon, eBay, Netscape, Priceline and Verisign as well as for The Blackstone Group, GE and the NYSE.

As CFO, she has also helped improve resource optimisation across different businesses through better capital and funding allocation, as well as expense reductions, something that Google is looking at cashing in on.

Google has seen costs jump as the Mountain View-based firm embarked on a number of projects. Last year, its revenue grew 19 per cent, while total expenses rose 23.4 per cent.

Porat holds a BA from Stanford University (Economics & International Relations), a MBA with distinction from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a M Sc from the London School of Economics (Industrial Relations).

She is also the Vice Chair of the Stanford University Board of Trustees, a member of the US Treasury's Borrowing Advisory Committee, a Board Director at The Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the Advisory Council of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution.