Google has appointed Kate Alessi as its new UK managing director.
She succeeds Debbie Weinstein, who was given a broader remit to oversee Google’s European, Middle East, and African businesses in December of last year.
Alessi will take the helm for the tech giant in the UK in June, when she will oversee Google’s 7,000 UK employees, most of whom will be accommodated at the tech giant’s King’s Cross headquarters when it opens.
The appointment comes soon after two separate rulings in the US found Google is a monopolist over both the search and adtech market. Depending on the remedies decided upon, Google could be forced to substantially restructure itself.
Most recently, Alessi was based in Cambridge, Massachusetts where she worked as Google and YouTube’s vice president of global production solutions, working on global delivery of the company’s advertising solutions.
She was previously Google’s head of brand solutions in Southern and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, where she was based out of Paris.
Alessi joined the Google in 2010 after working in venture capital and as a management consultant.
In a statement, she said she “can’t wait to return to the UK to lead the exceptional teams working to ensure that everyone benefits from AI-powered economic growth during this exciting time for our industry”.
Last year, Google committed to investing £1bn in the UK to create a new data centre in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire to support its AI innovation efforts in the UK and abroad.
Weinstein added she believes Alessi’s experiences “means she’s perfectly placed to further our aim of putting Google’s AI to work for everyone in the UK.”
