Googlers are ditching their startups for more traditional roles: 3 leadership changes

Julie Spitzer -

A number of Google's Silicon Valley-based biotechnology startups are losing their leaders to positions at more traditional biopharma companies, Endpoints News reports.

Here are three recent, notable executive moves from some of Google's top businesses.

1. Hal Barron, MD, president of research and development at Calico, left the company that is exploring the aging process, for a top R&D spot at GlaxoSmithKline Nov. 8.

2. Vik Bajaj, PhD, co-founded and served as chief science officer of Google's life science startup Verily before transitioning to Grail, a startup founded by San Diego-based Illumina but backed by Google Ventures. After just a year at Grail, which develops on techniques for early cancer detection, Dr. Bajaj left Oct. 30 to join SF venture capitalists at Foresite Capital.

3. Two other noteworthy leaders left Grail before Dr. Bajaj's departure. Jeff Huber reportedly stepped down as the company's CEO in August, followed Franz Och, who built Google Translate before heading up the data science department at Grail.

The moves come less than two years after Google's Verily experienced a major leadership exodus, according to STAT.  

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