Google's new CFO makes earnings call debut, says company can 'push a little further' on cost cuts
In her first earnings call as Alphabet CFO, Anat Ashkenazi said more streamlining will be needed so the company can invest in AI.
For nine years, the CFO role at Google and parent company Alphabet was held by Ruth Porat, who took a giant pay package in 2015 to leave Wall Street for Silicon Valley.
On Tuesday, Porat's successor, Anat Ashkenazi, made her earnings call debut, and said one of her top priorities will be to drive more "cost efficiencies" across the company, an effort started by her predecessor and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.
"There's really good work that was done, started by Ruth, Sundar and the rest of the lead team to re-engineer the cost base," Ashkenazi, who previously spent 23 years at drugmaker Eli Lilly, said on the call. "But I think any organization can always push a little further and I'll be looking at additional opportunities."
Ashkenazi joined Alphabet in July, almost a year after the company announced that Porat would move into a new role as president and chief investment officer. Her appearance on Tuesday came after Alphabet reported third-quarter earnings that beat on top and bottom lines, driven by strong revenue growth from the company's search and cloud units.
Alphabet shares, up 21% for the year, rose another 5.8% in extended trading after the report.
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