An Eli Lilly and Company veteran is heading to Alphabet Inc. to become the next finance chief.
The tech giant confirmed to Fortunein an announcement this morning that Anat Ashkenazi is the new CFO and SVP of Google and Alphabet, effective July 31. Longtime CFO Ruth Porat is remaining with the company but was promoted to a new role as president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google, which was previously announced in July 2023. Porat will continue as CFO until Ashkenazi starts, including through the company’s Q2 earnings.
Ashkenazi, CFO at Lilly since 2021, is moving on from a 23-year tenure at the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company. Before serving as finance chief, she was SVP, controller, and CFO of Lilly Research Laboratories. Ashkenazi also led the corporate strategy team and business transformation office. In addition, Ashkenazi served as CFO for several of the company’s global business areas. She will continue to serve as Lilly’s CFO and a member of the executive committee through July, and an internal and external search for her successor is actively underway, the company announced on Wednesday morning.
Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a statement the company has found “such a strong CFO, with a track record of strategic focus on long-term investment to fuel innovation and growth.” Pichai also mentioned that he looks forward to working with Ashkenazi to invest responsibly in the company’s next wave of growth in the AI era.
“Google’s growth and evolution over the last 25 years has been an incredible story, helping billions of people and millions of businesses around the world,” Ashkenazi said in a statement. She added that the opportunity to have an impact is “greater than ever” and she’s honored to join Sundar and the leadership team.
Ashkenazi has been at the helm of finance at Lilly as sales and demand for weight-loss drugs has skyrocketed. Lilly is the maker of Mounjaro, which is classified as a Type 2 diabetes drug but has led to weight loss among patients; and Zepbound, an obesity medication approved by the FDA in November. In Q1, worldwide revenue for Lilly rose 26% to $8.77 billion year over year, driven by the new products.
