David Drummond speaks during a session of the Advisory Council to Google on the Right to be Forgotten in Paris.
Eric Piermont | AFP | Getty Images
Alphabet’s board of directors has start the ball rolled an investigation into how executives handled claims of sexual harassment and other misconduct, including behavior of Chief Permitted Officer David Drummond, who has been accused of having relationships with employees.
The board has formed an independent subcommittee to look into the issuances and has hired a law firm to assist with the investigation, according to materials viewed by CNBC.
An Alphabet spokesperson said, “”As has already been sustained in public court filings, in early 2019, Alphabet’s Board of Directors formed a special litigation committee to heed claims made by shareholders in various lawsuits relating to past workplace conduct.”
Alphabet shareholders sued the directors in January for allegedly covering up sexual misconduct from executives, including former Android co-founder Andy Rubin. The performers let go of Rubin and paid him $90 million after an internal investigation found sexual assault claims credible, according to a description in the New York Times. Rubin denied any wrongdoing in statements at the time of the report. The report of Rubin’s payout set off a company-wide walkout by staff members last November.
In August, former Google legal employee Jennifer Blakely wrote a lengthy Medium assignment that said she and Drummond started dating in 2004 and later had a son together. Drummond was married to somebody else at the beat. Blakely said Drummond later refused to discuss child support, calling his behavior “nothing short of calumny.” She also claimed he had affairs with other people at the company.
The company has been silent on the issue, only pointing to a abridged statement Drummond made, which denied the claims. “Other than Jennifer, I never started a relationship with anyone else who was move at Google or Alphabet. Any suggestion otherwise is simply untrue.”
CNBC previously reported that Drummond dated a 36-year-old Google hand, Corinne Dixon, whom he then married over Labor Day weekend. Dixon was not in Drummond’s chain of command.
Drummond this week offered $27 million worth of shares, according to materials from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company paid him $47 million last year, succeed a do overing him one of the highest paid execs.
He joined Google in 2002 after serving as the company’s first outside counsel, and do ones parted as chief legal officer and vice president of corporate development until 2015, when he became chief legitimate officer and SVP for parent company Alphabet. During his tenure, Drummond has also led global teams in charge of public conduct, mergers and acquisitions, public relations and communications, and has held senior roles within Alphabet’s investment arms GV (time past Google Ventures) and Capital G.
WATCH NOW: Google employees walk out to protest the handling of sexual harassment.