Google reportedly replaced Brian McClendon as the head of Google maps a couple of months ago.
According to Business Insider, citing sources close to the matter, McClendon, who served as the Vice President of Google Maps, was replaced by another veteran Jen Fitzpatrick for the post. Fitzpatrick is one of Google’s first female engineers since 1999.
The change took place around October of 2014, around the same time when Sundar Pichai was promoted to be Google’s product chief.
One of the sources said that McClendon is currently on the bench and evaluating his options, while another claimed that he is looking at opportunities to start a new project within Google.
McClendon was an engineering VP at a digital mapping software company Keyhole that Google acquired in 2004 which became the foundation of Google Earth.
In 2013, McClendon observed that 20 per cent of search queries on Google are location specific. He was also awarded the United Nations Champions of the Earth award for “harnessing the power of technology to support conservation and green economic development” in the same year.
Google is yet to comment on the report.
