Last month, we were first to report that Google Engineering Director Mark Lucovsky was leaving the company to join VMware. Lucovsky was with the company for nearly 5 years and was very instrumental in its APIs. And now they’re losing another long-time employee who worked in a similar capacity — and yes, he’s also going to VMware.
Derek Collison has been with Google since 2004, most recently serving as a Technical Director working on its search APIs (specifically the AJAX ones) much like Lucovsky. Now he’s joining his once and future colleague at VMware, where he’ll apparently be working directly with him again.
Collison tweeted out the news of his departure today, and engaged some of his former co-workers on FriendFeed as to what his role will be with VMware. “Joining up with Vadim and Mark Lucovsky for a bit at VMWare to do some cloud computing stuff,” he wrote. “Vadim” is Vadim Spivak, who formerly worked at Google as a Gmail engineer before, yes, leaving to go to VMware.
Certainly, three people out of thousands is not a pattern, but it is interesting that all these of these guys left Google, where they had been for a long time, around the same time, to go work together at an already established company. Plenty of Googlers leave to go to startups, places like Twitter and FriendFeed, no doubt dreaming of riches and more control, but VMware IPOed in 2007.
Well, at least Google got its CEO back full-time again today.
Interesting. If I worked at Google I’d try to find start ups too. Its easier to work your way up the hierarchy and stuff.
You would. But there is no guarantee that your start-up would succeed.
First 5 to 10 years is not a long time, really one should work in a company at least more than 15 years to be considered long time folks. Google itself is a new company 10 years.
5 years is like getting a degree.
And its not like those who leave Google would go on to create another planet.
If you aint successful in working with Google you wont be successful outside Google either, Google gives you free time, work on new ideas and now funding even to get started.
Folks like Bill gates, larry, sergey, steve, et all comes once in a generation, they reflect the attitude of that generation as whole.
VMware is NOT a start-up!
Not news…
I’d like to know how this falls under interesting; I could understand if suddenly all their topic developers dropped from vmware, but 2? It’s not really news, they wanted a change and found a good opportunity, sounds fine to me.
VMware’s gradual movement from Windows binary only provisioning tools to web provisioning front ends that required MSIE to standards based web provisioning front ends… means that it is highly likely we’ll see externally accessible API provisioning *cough*GAE and AEC2*cough* — that’s where all this is going anyways.
VMware wants to enable the next cloud computing craze by making it easier for managed service providers, enterprise, and even low end hosting to have private cloud computing resources on tap with a mouse click.
Good hires if your going to do something like that. Maybe.
It’s not just long-time Google employees. It’s also a lot of old-timers from Microsoft (of which Mark is one). Paul Maritz is getting the old gang back together. That’s the news.
sure, lucovsky is one, but collison isn’t. any others ex-microsofties vmware has picked up recently?
Charles Fitzgerald, Harel Kodesh, Paul Maritz.
Richard McAniff
Tod Nielsen – COO at VMware. Was general manager for Microsoft Access.
Note that Nielsen, McAniff and Maritz all have very senior positions at VMware. The gathering of the old time Microsoftees is the story here.
How is there even a story? I’ve worked very closely with all these guys over the years at Microsoft. Great group. We are working together at vmware for all the right reasons.
thanks for linking to his profile on crunchbase that has not a single tidbit of information about him, other than what’s listed in your article.
“Now here this: Google Janitor has left to go clean toilets at VMWare. Please see link to his CrunchBase profile that has his lists hit toiletary duties”
derek is brilliant. for all intents and purposes, he IS tibco…
hmmm…these ‘high profile exits’ brings to mind “Luca Brasi’s” misssion in the Godfather…does anyone else agree???
And the point of this post is?
In other news, 3 Google employees, Larry, Barry & Harry, moved offices from the Building #2 to Building #5 and has joined the Google Voice team as QA testers. Certainly, three people out of thousands is not a pattern, but it is interesting that all these of these guys left Building #2, where they had been for a long time, around the same time, to go work together at Building #5 as QA Testers.
Insightful!
It’s inevitable..
but will be good to the industry
Five years is a long time in this industry. Maybe these guys just wanted a new challenge?
Give me a break . 5 years is a long time in the ‘industry ‘ ? . what dream world are you living on.
Yes it is, you clearly have no idea what being a developer is like on a daily basis.
More ex-Microsofties — Tod Nielsen, Jay Massena
no one is indispensable. There is always someone just as qualified to do the job needed. Only loss to Google is the short term disruption while finding someone just as capable or better.
what’s with reminding us you guys were FIRST to tell us about Lucovsky’s departure