Google CFO: Hiring Aggressively To Scale Up Company
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Google Inc. (GOOG) is bolstering its position ahead of stiffer competition from Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), which has been mobilizing to go after Google on its Internet turf.
Speaking at an investor conference hosted by Credit Suisse First Boston, Google Chief Financial Officer George Reyes said the company's aggressive hiring efforts are, in part, designed to increase Google's size as it prepares to face off with a larger, wealthier rival - presumably a reference to Microsoft.
"Our objective is to get to substantial scale as quickly as possible," Reyes said, because that lets you "brace yourself to compete with anybody, within reason."
Reyes also said that Google's September secondary offering of stock was mainly designed to build "a defensive war chest" against competitors.
"The view of the management team, supported by the board, was there was at least one very large competitor that could inflict a lot of damage on us, and why not take the money when it was available to buffer any storm that might come downstream for us," he said.
The executive described the Microsoft challenge as one that's on the horizon, rather than a reality today. "We study and hear and see what Microsoft does, and so far there is not a lot that we've seen that caused us much angst," he said. Google, however, will be watching to see how the next version of Windows, dubbed Vista, and Microsoft's Web-browser initiative shape up.