Thank You Susan

Thank you Susan. I owe a lot to you. Many people do. I’m thinking mostly about your wonderful family right now, but I did want to share two of my favorite memories. If someone were to ask about my time with you at Google, I’d tell these stories.

The first came at the beginning when you pulled me into your AdSense product org. You might remember that I’d always wanted to do marketing at Google but started out on the business side of the house for a year or so (much to the initial bruising of ego and equity). After having proven myself, the opportunity arose to transfer into Product Marketing and I was just about to do it when you interceded. I knew who you were of course but this might have been our first 1:1.

“Join product,” you said. And I thanked you for the offer but let you know that I was pretty excited about marketing. You leaned in a bit and said,

“Hunter, there are three ways things happen at Google. What Larry, Sergey and Eric want. What I want. And what You want. The first two want you to become a PM.”

Momentarily paused by this Godfather-style offer I couldn’t refuse, you then relaxed and said a bit more collaboratively, “Look, I spoke with Jonathan [Rosenberg] and come do product, and if you don’t like it, transfer into product marketing then. But Product is really where you want to be at a place like Google.”

And you were right. For the next three years you served as my manager, then skip-level manager as we grew.

The second memory was more of a coda. It was towards the end of 2006 after a very tough year working on Google Video. It wasn’t just that we were failing, it was that we were failing because of Google’s politics, personalities, and blind spots. On top of that my promotion packet was denied, leaving me, in my mind significantly under-leveled. My manager let me know that everyone was still very high on me but I needed a ‘win’ before getting advanced. And shared that in lieu of the title change you’d approved a bonus.

I immediately booked a 1:1 slot with you and said “I don’t want your money, I want your time. Tell me where I can do better. Give me feedback. This company is throwing off cash but your time is more valuable to me.” You said you understood and a few months later supported my transfer to YouTube where I spent the rest of my Google career. You always believed in YouTube, years before you joined us as CEO (I was already gone). Thank you for your advocacy and help, even when many on Google’s executive team wavered. For another six years you gave me exactly what I’d hoped for — your time.

Today we know your time was even more precious than any of us could have imagined.

Thank you Susan. You are missed and loved.

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Originally published at https://hunterwalk.com on August 10, 2024.