Patrick Pichette
Patrick Pichette | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1962 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Executive, venture capitalist |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Known for | Senior vice president and CFO at Google (2008–2015) |
Patrick Pichette (born 1962) is a Canadian executive and venture capitalist, recognized primarily for his role as senior vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) at Google from 2008 until 2015. Following his tenure at Google, he shifted focus to venture capital and holds positions on multiple corporate boards.
Early life and education
Hailing from Montreal, Quebec, Pichette completed a Bachelor of Business Administration at Université du Québec à Montréal in 1987. He further pursued a Master of Arts degree specializing in philosophy, politics, and economics at Pembroke College, Oxford. His academic achievements include being awarded a Rhodes Scholarship.
Career
Pichette launched his professional journey with McKinsey & Company in Toronto in 1989. By 1994, he advanced to vice president and CFO at Call-Net Enterprises. After Call-Net was acquired by Rogers Communications, he returned to McKinsey in 1996. In 2001, he joined BCE Inc. as executive vice president, briefly held the CFO position at Bell Canada from 2002 to 2003, and subsequently served as president of operations until 2008.
During his time at Google between 2008 and 2015, Pichette held the titles of senior vice president and CFO. In 2011, his responsibilities expanded to include oversight of human resources and business operations. He was appointed to the board of Bombardier Inc. in 2013, a role he maintained through 2017.
After departing Google in 2015 to travel, Pichette reengaged with the business sector as a general partner at Inovia Capital—a venture capital firm with offices in Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, and London—starting in 2018. His focus has been on scaling growth-stage companies while dividing his time among Canada, London, and Silicon Valley.
In 2019, he became one of the founding members of the UK's Creative Destruction Lab based at Oxford. In 2021, he joined the board of Zwift, an indoor cycling application company.
From June 2020 until the board's dissolution following Elon Musk's acquisition in October 2022, Pichette acted as independent board chair of Twitter, Inc.. Prior to this role, he served as lead independent director from 2018 through 2022.
Since October 2018, Pichette has been a board member of Montreal-based Lightspeed Commerce, ascending to Lead Independent Chair in February 2022. He chaired the board of the Trudeau Foundation between November 2018 and March 2021 and provides advisory support to the startup Arctoris.
In June 2015, Pichette was honored with the National Order of Québec for his leadership and business accomplishments.
Personal life
Pichette lives in London with his wife Tamar and their three children. Together they participate in philanthropic efforts including a conservation and research initiative with the Nature Conservancy of Canada aimed at preserving Kenauk—a vast territory spanning 65,000 acres situated between Montreal and Ottawa. Additionally, they collaborate with the Himalayan Cataract Project to establish an eye hospital in Ethiopia.