Google spent $1.2 million last year to protect CEO Sundar Pichai in an 'overall security program' that started months after the YouTube shooting (GOOG, GOOGL)
- The cost of Google CEO Sundar Pichai's personal security nearly doubled last year, according to the company's proxy report to shareholders released on Tuesday.
- Google spent over $1.2 million in 2018 on Pichai's security unit, compared to a spend of roughly $680,000 the year prior.
- A Google spokesperson told Business Insider on Tuesday that a security program for its CEO was not entirely new and something that is continuously adjusted.
- The timing of the upgraded security, however, came just months after an active shooter on YouTube's San Bruno campus left three employees injured and the broader tech community shaken.
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The cost of Google CEO Sundar Pichai's personal security nearly doubled last year, according to the company's proxy report to shareholders released Tuesday.
Google spent over $1.2 million in 2018 on Pichai's security unit, compared to a spend of roughly $680,000 the year prior, according to the filing.
The timing of the upgraded security came just months after an active shooter on YouTube's San Bruno campus in April 2018 left three employees injured — and the broader tech community shaken. According to the report, Alphabet's compensation committee approved an "overall security program" for Pichai in July 2018, which was then rolled out the following month.
A Google spokesperson told Business Insider on Tuesday that a security program for its CEO was not entirely new and something that is continuously adjusted. In fact, Pichai's security spend doubled from 2016 to 2017, as well.
Still, the lingering fears of last April's shooting at YouTube likely played at least some role in bolstering Pichai's security budget to over $1 million.
That event also caused another tech company to reassess how it protects its chief executive: Business Insider's Rob Price recently reported that in the wake of the incident at YouTube, Facebook invested in a fleet of more than 30 new Toyota RAV4 hybrid SUVs to increase patrols around its own campus — though the company struggled to work out a plan for how best to deploy the vehicles.
Last July, Facebook's board approved a $10 million security allowance for Zuckerberg and his family for the year; significantly more than what Google spends to protect Pichai.
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