Ruth Porat

point out. Today we are taking you to the Googleplex in Mountain View, California, where I'm sitting down with Alphabet CFO Ruth poor At. We're in one of Google's new outdoor pandemic workspaces, and we're not far from her childhood home. Her father was a physicist at Stanford, her mother a psychologist.

After graduating from Stanford herself and then earning a couple more advanced degrees, poor At landed her first job on Wall Street in nineteen seven, where she would spend almost three decades until Google's co founders lured her to Silicon Valley. It's wonderful to be here with you. It's great to have you here at the Google plot. Thank you for having us. So we are at Google headquarters in Mountain View, and at this very same time, you are making massive

investments in New York office real estate. You're expanding head count in Atlanta and Chicago and Washington, d C. What's the strategy behind all of this. Well, at the core, we believe in hybrid work, so we do want to bring people back on campuses, but not full time. We're thinking would probably be a three to work week. But we think coming together is just such a core part of innovation, serendipity, culture, every element of it. And we're growing in a really rapid clip. So we are excited

to be expanding our real estate footprint. And then we also wanted to make sure that we're meeting people where they want to be and so enlarging the number of sites that we have available for people in particular sites where you have great diverse populations. Soon, Dar just told me that Googlers will have this option to work in a hybrid mode forever, like literally forever. Obviously you're embracing this massive cultural shift. But what are the risks? You know,

what do you worry about? So the positive we've seen is there's a productivity uplift. We believe in giving people the opportunity to be at home some of the time, not do the commute, be able to deal with everything else in their life and coming into the office. So the risk is I think about my career, and so much of the benefit in my career was the informal coaching, being pot brought into meetings, all of the touch points

that you have. And so I think that one of the most important things for all of us as leaders is we need to evolve the way we lead. We need to make sure that we're thinking about this hybrid work life and why that's the way to be the best magnet for talent, and make sure that we're continuing to reinforce all of those great practices while opening up

new great practices. Speaking of your career before your CFO of Alphabet, you are CFO of Morgan Stanley and you started your career on Wall Street in nineteen eighties seven. Talk to us about the journey of going from big banks to big tech. Why did you make that leap

and what impact did you want to have? Well, I love being at Morgan Stanley and I became CFO the day James Gorman became CEO, ysked me to join him in that in that journey, and that was January, and we were still recovering coming out of the financial crisis. There were still some pretty rocky days and a lot

of decisions that needed to be made. And then I got to a point where I felt like we were in a great spot at Morgan Stanley, and obviously it's continued to do really well, and I just wanted that next chapter. My view, in my career, I've always been focused on kind of continually learning, and I feel like when you hit a plateau, the right questions what's my highest and best use? And uh, it's been it's been

an extraordinary time. You also survived Wall Street in the eighties and nine daies, which is you know, notorious boys club, and Silicon Valley has sort of come to be known as a boys club of its own. How would you compare those two cultures. Well, when I was in you know, starting my career um many decades ago, it was much it was tough and much worse than it is now. And it evolved, no question about it, not where it needs to be, but certainly evolved. And I saw it

through my career. UM, I would say the biggest difference out here is the level of impatience, and I love it. It's the view is, if you can do some of the extraordinary breakthroughs that we have out here, if you can do natural language translation, everything we do with AI, with VR, with self driving cars, why can't you fix this now? And that level of impatience I think is fantastic. Legend has it that when you got to Google, you were going to rain in the spending, tighten up on

the moonshots. Your nickname, I believe, was Ruth Vader. Was that a tough job to take on? So I think that the narrative was written before I got here. And what I find most interesting about that is I firmly believe the single most important thing in capital allocation is investing for long term growth. I think if you don't, you're sowing the seeds of your long term decline. And

I learned that really early on in my career. Now, if you're investing in an industry like this and trying to do truly transformative things, by definition everything can't succeed, and so by definition you should have the metrics and data and milestones to assess is it working or is it not? Because if everything's working, or if you think everything is working, I would say one or two things

are wrong. Either you're not reaching high enough or you're not being honest enough with yourself about the pace of breakthrough whether you're going to get there. So, to me, a really natural part, you know, kind of a sister organization to investing for long term growth is actually thinking about how are you doing with the risk that you're taking. Stack rack them and figure out what's at the bottom

so you can redeploy those resources to the top. They go together, actually, and so I find the narrative it's a false choice to think that it's either about growth or it's about pruning, stack ranking. They go together, and you have to think of them as actually empowering one another. You advised the Treasury Department during the Great Recession. What lessons did you take away from that? What struck me is a lot of the lessons from the financial crisis

are relevant in good times and bad times. So the most important is it's easier to prevent than to fix. And and so you know, there was that was really clear during the financial crisis. The financial crisis was about liquidity, and it dried up quickly, and it would have been really easy six to twelve months prior to build in durable liquidity. You couldn't do it in the moment. And so this notion about really building a solid foundation on which you operate, you need to do that ahead of time.

It needs to be all of the work we do on trust and safety and content moderation, security, That is the foundation on which you can build everything else. Hand Calls at one point said to me, you have to have the will and the means, and too often by the time you have the will, you no longer have the means. His comment was, be decisive, act early, even

in the absence of information. I think that's true in this whole notion of investing for long term growth, because if you're not actually assessing progress along the way and you just assume you know what, we can keep investing in everything, at some point down the road you'll say, I wish I had made those tough calls to double down on the things that really matters. What times are we in now. What's your read on the economy today,

especially with rising inflation. Well, I look, I think back to March of and where we were, and I think of all of the intervention and steps that have been taken since then, and you've certainly seen the recovery coming out the back end, and it's been really gratifying from those those painful days to see the breakthroughs that we've had, not just on the medical front, but we've also seen

the improvement across business. Is I think one of the biggest concerns in particulars you're seeing us go through a digital transformation and the acceleration of it is ensuring that everyone has the skills, the digital training and skills to thrive in this new economy. You're listening to Bloomberg Studio one Point Oh with Alphabet CFO Ruth poor At coming up. Google now reaches more than half the people on the planet and is battling regulators around the world. Is Google

a monopoly? We'll put that question to pour At. I'm Emily Chang. Stay with us. I want to talk a little bit about regulation. You were drawn to M and A in your early days at Morgan Stanley. Microsoft is making some big acquisitions deals that some think Google maybe would have wanted to win in a former life. Is antitrust scrutiny constraining any of your business plans and your

ability to compete. So the main thing that we've done throughout the life of Google is really invest in innovation, is organic growth, and we're continuing to do that at a really rapid clip. We have then layered onto it tuck in acquisitions and larger acquisitions, and we're continuing to be active more in the smaller ones in the add ons to be fair, um, but we think there's a lot of opportunity still ahead of us, and so we're

continuing to invest in partnerships in in some acquisitions. UM. And do think that there's there's still upside in a lot of different areas. So would you say this regulatory scrutiny isn't slowing you down. It's really important for those of us in certain leadership positions to be very focused on constructively engaging and working with regulators on what are the issues, what is it they're trying to solve, and

how can we constructively engage with them. At the same time, our engineers should focus on innovation and continuing to kind of up the bar and everything we're doing a rest what is most helpful for our users? Google is facing more serious legal threats at this time in the United States than the other big tech companies. How are those

conversations with regulators going. Are they frustrating at this point? Well, there's certain elements that that are frustrating because I listened to the outline of some of the proposed legislation and I think it's inconsistent with some of the priorities for public policy. So as an example, UM, there are there's a lot of focus on what what is called self preferencing. Are you putting too many of your own products together? But during the pandemic, one and three small businesses said

they would have failed without digital skills. Why because what they were able to do is connect with their users in different ways. So if you go search for a small business, you can then go to a map and you can get directed to the small business. That's a good thing. We have six thousand small businesses who wrote in and said, you know what, we need these digital tools and els same with a number of things on racial equity, real surge in searches about where can I

wears a black owned business near me? And the ability to direct people through search and maps. So I think that what's really important, And that's why I said it's about constructive engagement. Let's make sure we understand what they're trying to solve and work with them on what is it that we're trying to address through products, so that the products are helpful in the ways that they want. Facebook has taken a serious reputational hit. Has that had

ripple effects or created collateral damage for Google? Well, I think that whenever there's a backdrop that's that's UM challenging, it has ripple effects. But what we're really underscoring is all of the steps and investments that we are making to really protect the ecosystem the way we our commitment to our users, so we know how sacrosanct that trust is. And it's all about privacy, and what are the steps that we're taking to make privacy UM could protect it

for our users. What is it that we're looking at to protect content and content moderations? Google now reaches more than half the people on the planet. Why shouldn't we view Google as a monopoly? So you know, I go back to the earliest days when Google. I first learned about Google back in and in those earliest days when I heard about this like eighth search engine. The question

is why do you actually need it? And back at Morgan Stanley's working with our research Anne Listinary Meeker, she actually had her team put up white pages all around the conference room and was doing this comparison what provided the most um responsive results, most rapidly, and all of a sudden you could see a way of this Google thing. Actually,

maybe we do need something new. And that's been the ethos at Google since inception is just continued to innovate to make this eight and ever better experience for users. And so if we can, if we can deliver on that, which is what drives people here, it's really opening the world for for so many people. So that's that's the intent. Facebook and Twitter are exploring digital currency. What is your thought on the crypto market and is there a play for Google? So we look at it, Um, there's nothing

to to comment on now. UM, I think we're much more interested in blockchain and the underlying technology and the implications for the business and also for the way we can support our cloud customers. So certainly a lot of effort there. There's considerable chatter in the crypto universe that Web three and the blockchain could circumvent the power of

Facebook and Google and more. What do you think about the next frontier of the Internet at this point, I think there are a lot of different things ahead of us that are actually studyingly exciting that enable us to actually continue to address different needs and requirements like I look at, for example, in something like health, where I think blockchain will be very valuable when you think about

health and health records. They're also a whole host of other areas where the data analytics that we provide are absolutely critical. This is Bloomberg Studio at one point, Oh with Alphabet CFO Ruth Poor at up next for all the parents out there, Poor tells us her philosophy to managing work, family and mom guilt. She talks about surviving breast cancer not once, but twice, and also her favorite vacation getaway stay with us. You survived breast cancer twice.

What was your biggest fear at that time and how did you overcome it? Well, the biggest fear was I wouldn't make it, and um, I remember when some someone had some interview while I was going through chemo, said where do you want to be in five years? And I froze because it was want to be alive UM, and I learned a couple of really important things. UM. One, given breakthroughs in medical technology, I learned to love the word manageable. These this journey does become manageable, not for

all cancers, but for many more cancers. And that gave me a lot of confidence talking with other survivors about it is manageable, get the best care, and just plow through it. I was just very grateful and grateful for all of the investments people have made over the years. But for anybody out there, and I think everybody sadly will be touched by cancer, either themselves or someone they know and love, many of these cancers are manageable and just go at it with gusto. So that's what I did.

You're a mom of three sons, and I find that especially remarkable because I also have three sons. How have you managed that over the course of this, you know, incredible career. How do you find that right mix of focus and free time to spend time with your family and doing the things that you love? So my kids, UM, My kids give me energy. They're remarkable and I think one of the important things for me is this notion

that you do have to have a mix. It's not about trying to find balance, the physics of which is really challenging. I think when people try for balance, they always feel they're failing on something because something's out of whack. So this metaphor that life is like a kaleidoscope and you need to have different shaped pieces of glass and different color and sometimes one is larger than the other. And what's beautiful about life is when it's constantly moving around.

And so to me, that metaphor has actually been sort of an anchoring principle. The other is you have to put the kids first, so like they know that I'm I'm there, you know when they need always and um And I think that just making sure that you're setting the boundaries the way you need to. I would say it's much easier today than when I was growing up in banking, you know, and we had a cubicle, there was a there was a computer room. You were anchored

to the computer room. One of the many beautiful things about going through this evolution in work is understanding that hybrid works. So how do we get rid of mom guilt? Especially in this new work world. I want to shake my mom guilt. How do I do that? Okay, So even when you feel it, to say, you know what, it's an investment in my career because I can stay in this longer and be operating at a higher level if I'm really getting the stimulus from all parts of

my life. So you've got to drop the mom guilt. And when on the other side mom guilt with kids, I think they get it. I think they understand what we're doing, and you know, I'll never forget. During the financial crisis, at one point I was working on a I G. We went around the clock. I came home to shower that one like right as we were landing a i G, and my three kids had each written me a yellow sticky note with a message on it,

and one of them was based you know. They the essence of which was I get why you're doing this and it and they saw it as the right thing for the country. I don't need to overdramatize what it was, but that's what it felt like at the time and that level of pride. I still have those three stickies right by my bedside because I get it. I get

the mom guilt. I wish there were certain elements like it could have done differently, But I also see the relationship we have and they understand what it means to actually be engaged in society and doing something you care about. No mom gilt, mom gil, thank you, It's not allowed. Should we make excuses to our employers? Should we tell her, like if I have to head to a parent teacher conference or take a kid to the doctor, do I tell my boss? You don't tell your boss. You don't

tell your boss. Guys don't tell their boss, so I don't think you say anything. I actually made this point at an event at Morgan Stanley. I'm like, do not tell your boss. Got to get over the guilt. The only way to move on from it is realized. I'm a professional. I do things when I when I can, and it makes sense and I get it all done.

I just do it on my own timeline. And I actually had a woman who emailed me afterwards and said, I know you said I'm not supposed to tell my boss, so I won't, but I can't not tell somebody, so I'm going to email you. And I'm like, okay, that's step one of a five step attorney. Do not tell your boss, your tell your boss, you know what, I need to do certain things for myself and I it's I'm getting I feel guilty doing it, but I get everything done. There's no question you are so beyond having

to check in with people. Well, so do not. We're in the middle of this so called Great Resignation and people are reflecting and changing and making big decisions. What's your advice two people in this you know, big evolution, you know, huge choices ahead. Well, I think you framed it really well. I don't think it's the Great resignation. I think it's the great reshuffle. And people are reflecting on what do they want and how do they want to work and how do they want to live their life.

So I think for all of us thinking about what does that mean for our institutions. It is about evolving the way we we we work, the way we interact, the expectations that we have to say. But I grew up in a cubicle on the twenty floor of a sky rise. Doesn't work anymore, and so what should we do as leaders? And I think that our this generation, appropriately and it's very exciting, expects more from all of us. And so it's not just in how we work. But it is in what we do, and I think all

elements of what's the mission? Are you delivering on the mission? Is really important? Okay, So if you rapid fire questions someone you'd love to have dinner with, Well, I'd love to say my parents because they passed away in over of years ago. Favorite family ritual. We do this crazy thing that we've done for years, which is everybody gets to pick where we travel. We come up with the five the five different low patients, and then we all vote, and then we get the grid and that's where we go.

What's your favorite getaway? Um? Probably I would say maybe Iceland was the best. That's an amazing one. New York or California so unfair. Well, sitting here outdoors right now and knowing I can do that for the rest of the years, pretty nice with the energy from New York. So I'm not gonna It's like I don't pick amongst children. So in closing, Google is a massive company, multiple divisions, many bets. Where are you spending most of your time now?

I'm spending most of my time on your very more in question about capital allocation because if it really goes to this core point, you've got to invest for long term growth and making sure that you're investing with the right intensity. I often say I don't want to get to the two yard line, but not score. So you need to make sure you're investing with the right intensity

to support long term growth. That's the most important area where I would say I spend the ball my time, and then of course you have to prioritize in order to recycle to support those apploms. What kind of discussions are you having with Larry and Sergey now about this next phase of Google? So when they made the announcement about the role change, they really they were very serious about moving to this board role and they've been there

amazing board members. UM Sandars of course relies on them for counsel wherever, whenever, But most of the interaction is really around what are we doing at the board level. It's been great and you have your freedom to allocate capital as you like. UM. I work closely with Sandar and Philip and Taz. Yes, we work as a great team. So where what's the vision for Google? Then ten years

from now? You know it's fascinating too. Was I think I had the same reaction you do when I heard Cinders say searches the biggest moon shot, and I think that continuing to find ways to be helpful to users to solve what they need. Where so many people are coming online and it you know, is video going to be the first the way they understand It's going to be about you know, search is going to be a different type of experience. So much of it's going to

be about voice first and language translation. So there's gonna it's going to continue to evolve. And what about for you personally? Like where will you know? It's been so amazing to hear about your journey, and I'm just curious about your personal growth, like what you feel you've accomplished in the last you know, since you've been here, and

what you hope to accomplish. I find that that the opportunity to try new things and to invest in new things, and as we think about, well what does that mean for each one of our areas, there's I think that intellectual curiosity keeps you young. And I think that continuing to learn is like your brain is like silly putty getting pulled in a lot of directions, So to me, it's continuous learning. Report. Thank you so much, for its great to have you on camp. Come back any time.

Bloomberg Studio One point Oh was produced by Lauren Ellis, edited by Brian Carton Gayner. Our managing editor is Danielle Culbertson, with special thanks to Alex Soto and Tiffany Perez. If you like Bloomberg Studio one point oh, please subscribe and leave us a review. We love hearing from you. I'm Emily Changing, your host and executive producer.