Technology Update

Google Names New CFO

06/25/08 - 06:26 PM EDT

SAN FRANCISCO - Internet king Google(GOOG - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) has named telecommunications veteran Patrick Pichette as its new chief financial officer.

Pichette, who spent the last seven years at Bell Canada, will replace George Reyes at Google. Reyes announced last August that he was planning to retire but he stayed on as CFO during the search for his replacement.

Pichette served as CFO for Bell Canada from 2002 until the end of 2003. His other roles include vice president of planning and performance management.

Prior to Bell Canada, he was a partner at McKinsey & Company, where he helped lead the North American telecom practice. He also served as vice president and CFO of Call-Net Enterprises, a Canadian telecommunications company, from 1994 to 1996.

Pichette will assume his new role at Google on Aug. 1.

"Patrick brings the expertise and track record of a successful CFO, along with the hands-on business experience of a seasoned operations executive," said company CEO Eric Schmidt in a statement.

"This strong combination of skills and experience will be an important addition to Google's executive management team and will support our ongoing efforts to increase value for our users, advertisers and partners."

Shares of Google were down .36%, or $2, to $549 in after-hours trading.