The executive director of Google.org, Google's philanthropic organization, is stepping aside to focus more on identifying "big ideas" and less on management of Google.org, according to a blog post on the company's Web site.
Dr. Larry Brilliant said that he will take another position with Google, and Megan Smith, another Google executive, will manage Google.org.
"It's clear that I am most effective in helping to identify 'big ideas' and potential partners, as well as raising awareness about society's biggest challenges. I am therefore very excited to become Google's chief philanthropy evangelist," Brilliant wrote.
Smith will be general manager of Google.org in addition to her existing role as vice president of new business development, according to Brilliant.
"Megan will ensure that we're better able to build innovative, scalable technology and information solutions," he wrote. "In this global economic crisis, the work Google.org is doing, together with our many colleagues around the world, to help develop cheap, clean energy, find and fight disease outbreaks before they sweep the globe and build information platforms for underserved people globally is more important than ever."
Google.org will become more aligned with Google as a whole to leverage its technology and information, Brilliant said. Examples of this already are Google's Flu Trends, RechargeIT, Clean Energy 2030 and PowerMeter, according to Brilliant.
Google will put more engineering and technical resources to work on new solutions to problems such as climate change, infectious diseases, poverty and health care, according to the company.
"I hope to be able to spend more time motivating policy makers, encouraging public and private partnerships, and generally advocating for the changes that we must make as a global society to solve these problems," Brilliant said.
