Hmm. It looks like AdMob CEO Omar Hamoui is leaving Google after only five months of being under the wing of the search giant after the $750 million acquisition.
According to a statement from Google:
“Omar has decided to leave AdMob and Google for personal reasons. He built a fantastic business in a short period of time, and we wish him all the best. Mobile advertising – across search and display – is now a billion dollar business for Google, with AdMob a key part of that. Google is fortunate to have a great team of leaders who are driving the next phase of rapid growth and innovation across all our mobile ads products.”
I remember when AdMob first got started a few years ago and Omar always seemed very confident in his vision for mobile advertising. A few years later, 300 billion ads served and after a bidding war between Apple and Google, it appears that he was right on the money.
That’s why this move is so troubling. If it truly is for “personal reasons,” then we wish Omar all the best and hope everything is okay with his family.
Of course, “personal reasons” is often a blanket excuse politicians make and he was either booted out or decided he didn’t want to work for one of the most successful companies in the world.
Judging by how well the AdMob vision has worked out, I’d rule out the first option. While I’m sure he made a boatload off the acquisition deal, these also usually come with stock options which don’t vest for a few years, so Omar must have really wanted to go.
To be fair, there may not be anything “wrong” with Google, as CEOs of startups generally love building things and the freedom that starting your own company creates. Google is still innovative but the work environment isn’t anything close to a startup anymore.
There’s no word on where the AdMob CEO will go next but I’m sure he’ll pop up somewhere prominent, particularly as the mobile advertising space is heating up. How crazy would it be to see Apple snag him as head of its iAd program?
[Via TechCrunch]