Google Cloud chief moves to ServiceNow as COO

A day after announcing his exit from Google following a six-year journey at the search giant, Amit Zavery, the Indian American cloud chief, is set to assume the role of Chief Operating Officer at US-based software company ServiceNow.

ServiceNow, which specialises in developing a cloud computing platform designed to assist organisations in managing digital workflows for enterprise operations, has confirmed that Zavery will take on the positions of president, chief product officer (CPO), and chief operating officer (COO), effective October 28.

In his capacity as president, CPO, and COO, Zavery will oversee ServiceNow’s platform, products, engineering, cloud infrastructure, and user experience. He will also manage enterprise-wide operations to ensure rigorous business practices from innovation through to execution, as stated by the company.

Zavery, who has held executive roles at Google Cloud and Oracle, brings a wealth of experience in enterprise innovation, transformation, and scalability.

Zavery served as Vice President and General Manager at Google Cloud for nearly six years, where he played a pivotal role in the leadership team that propelled the company to become the fourth largest enterprise software provider globally. Under his guidance, annual revenue surged from $7 billion to over $41 billion, while operating margins improved by more than 70 percentage points in the past four years.

Prior to his tenure at Google, Zavery spent nearly 25 years to Oracle, beginning his career as a software engineer and ultimately advancing to the position of Executive Vice President of Product Development. In this capacity, he managed the cloud platform, middleware, security, analytics, and Java products, leading a team of 4,500 and achieving over $6 billion in annual revenue.

In his farewell message on LinkedIn, Zavery expressed that departing from Google was “the toughest goodbye,” but he also conveyed his enthusiasm for the new adventures and opportunities that lie ahead.

“Amit Zavery has an extraordinary track record of innovation and commercial execution,” said Bill McDermott, chairman and chief executive officer of ServiceNow.

Zavery said, “I’m excited to build on the incredible legacy of ServiceNow’s founder, Fred Luddy, building scalable, impactful solutions that address real-world challenges while continuing to push the boundaries of what’s possible for our customers by integrating cutting-edge technologies like generative AI.”

“Over nearly six years, I’ve learned an incredible amount, had so much fun, and witnessed remarkable growth in the business,” Zavery wrote. “Helping grow Google Cloud from $7.3billion to over $41 billon in annualised revenue and contributing to the creation of the world’s fourth-largest enterprise software company, has been a career-defining privilege.”

Zavery, who holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Science in Information Networking from Carnegie Mellon University, thanked Sundar Pichai, Thomas Kurian, his team, colleagues, mentors, and friends at Google for their constant support, encouragement, and inspiration.

Last week, Google promoted senior Indian American executive Prabhakar Raghavan from his position overseeing search engine and advertising products to the role of Chief Technologist.

His previous responsibilities within the company's primary revenue-generating division have been assigned to Nick Fox, a veteran executive at Google. With both Raghavan and Fox possessing extensive expertise in artificial intelligence, Google intends to expedite advancements in this area.