Alphabet’s Google appoints DeLaine Prado as new general counsel

Alphabet Inc.’s Google appointed Halimah DeLaine Prado, a company veteran and one of the technology giant’s most senior Black executives, as general counsel.

DeLaine Prado’s promotion will likely be welcomed by Black employees at the company who have been pushing for more diversity. Earlier this year, Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai committed to increase leadership representation of underrepresented groups by 30% by 2025. Google’s 2019 diversity report said 2.6% of Google’s leaders were Black.

Google hasn’t had a general counsel since 2018, when Kent Walker was promoted to senior vice president of global affairs, a position responsible for responding to the swell of regulatory and privacy-related issues the company has faced in recent years. DeLaine Prado will report to Walker.

“Google has been my home for nearly 14 years, allowing me to work on some of the most complex and important legal issues of the digital age with a world-class legal team,” she said in a statement. “I am excited for this new opportunity and I cannot wait to get started.”

DeLaine Prado was most recently a vice president in the legal department, where she ran a global legal team that advised on Google products including Ads, Search, Cloud, Hardware, Platforms & Ecosystems, and YouTube.

“Halimah has been a trusted counselor and exceptional leader,” Walker said in a statement. “She is uniquely qualified to lead the Legal Department at this critical moment.”