Google to hire ex- Apple exec as India policy head to tackle challenges

By Sankalp Phartiyal

Alphabet Inc’s Google is set to appoint a manufacturing and policy veteran as India’s top executive for government affairs to tackle legal challenges and expand device assembly in the country.

Srinivasa Reddy, a senior engineering executive currently at Microsoft, is likely to join Google at the end of this year, said people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because it is a matter of confidentiality. Previously served in senior positions in the India regulatory team of Apple Inc. He headed Government Relations at the local unit of Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson AB, helping to drive local manufacturing at both companies.

Reddy’s experience will come in handy at Google, which is looking for partners in India to round out its Pixel line of smartphones as it seeks to diversify outside of China. Producing the Pixel in India may lead to local manufacturing of other Google hardware products, such as speakers.

The CEO will also help Google overcome organizational challenges. The Mountain View, California-based company is fighting antitrust charges in India, with authorities accusing it of abusing its dominant position in mobile operating systems.

Reddy and Google representatives in India did not respond to requests for comment. Google’s former India policy chief, Archana Gulati, left the company last year.

Google is among the global technology companies that look to India as a key growth market. The company is adding more local languages ​​to its services and looking for ways to make its Android smartphones cheaper, and is keen to win more users in the world’s most populous country.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the company plans to open a global fintech hub in Gujarat International Finance Tech-City – more commonly known as GIFT City – in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state. Month.