CSR, Google and philanthropy

Google hires another brilliant Larry

Not content with one exceptional executive called Larry, Google has hired another - Dr Larry Brilliant is to head up its philanthropic organisation. An award-winning expert in health and development, Dr Brilliant will oversee Google.org, the charitable arm of Google, which the firm's founders claim could one day have a greater impact on the world than the main company.

Dr Brilliant was appointed as executive director of Google.org on Wednesday and will work with the company's co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to manage Google's charitable donations and philanthropic strategies.

Dr Brilliant is a physician, epidemiologist and a specialist in international health. He played a key role in the World Health Organisation campaign to eradicate smallpox and has also worked for the UN in the fields of blindness and polio eradication.

Google.org is the umbrella term for Google's philanthropic efforts, which includes the work of the Google Foundation and some of Google's internal corporate philanthropy. The organisation focuses on several areas including global poverty, health, energy and the environment and has made over $7m (£4m) in investments and grants to date.

For the full article by Andrew Donoghue, see ZDNet UK.