Alphabet on Wednesday announced the appointment of Anat Ashkenazi as its new chief financial officer overseeing Alphabet and Google operations.
Upon signing up with the tech giant, the former Eli Lilly executive raked in a $9.9 million signing bonus, The Wall Street Journal first reported, in addition to an equity grant worth $13.1 million in the form of restricted stock units, plus her $1 million annual salary — with eligibility for annual bonuses up to 200% of her base salary.
Ashkenazi is set to stay on as senior vice president and CFO at the pharmaceutical company through the end of July before taking on her new role with Google. Business Insider previously reported that a search was underway for her successor at Eli Lilly, where she worked for more than two decades.
According to her biography, Ashkenazi graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she earned her bachelor's degree in finance and economics, and Tel Aviv University, where she earned her MBA.
Before joining Eli Lilly in 2001, she worked in financial services at Maalot Standard & Poor's and Bank Hapoalim in Israel.
More notably, the past 23 years of her career have been spent in various roles across Eli Lilly — including positions in strategy, finance, and, most recently, as senior vice president, controller, and CFO of Lilly Research Laboratories.
She served as CFO for several of the company's global sectors, including manufacturing and research and development, and oversaw the corporate strategic planning team.
"During her last three years as Lilly's CFO, we have experienced tremendous growth and laid the groundwork to help us reach even more patients with our medicines," David A. Ricks, Eli Lilly's chair and CEO, said in a statement regarding Ashkenazi's departure. "I want to personally thank Anat for her partnership, friendship, and leadership of our financial organization and to wish her well in her new role."
During Ashkenazi's tenure, Eli Lilly has achieved a market cap of more than $800 billion, largely thanks to two of the company's newer products — Mounjaro and Zepbound, popular antidiabetic medications used for treating type 2 diabetes and for weight loss.
Her transition to Google comes as the tech giant invests heavily in artificial intelligence. Alphabet's stock hit its all-time high on May 21 at $179.54 per share.
"This was a strong candidate that fills a void for Alphabet at a key time in its growth transformation and AI Revolution," Dan Ives, a managing director at Wedbush Securities, told BI: "She has a strong reputation and great CFO experience. Right hire at the right time."
In her new role at Google, Ashkenazi is succeeding Ruth Porat, who served as CFO before she was named chief investment officer last year.
Representatives for Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
