Birthday: July 20, 1957
Who is Ruth Porat?
Ruth Porat is a British-American genius in business management. She has served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Alphabet Inc. and its subsidiary Google since 2015 and was also the executive vice president and CFO of Morgan Stanley from 2010 to 2015.
She was also listed as one of the most powerful women in the world by both Forbes and Fortune. She is widely known in the business industry for her leadership and discipline.
Five Facts About Ruth Porat
- The chief financial officer of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, since 2015
- Known as the world’s 16th most powerful woman by Forbes and 7th on Fortune
- Was hailed as the Best Financial Institutions CFO in a poll by the Institutional Investor
- Took part in the board of Wall Street investment in June 2020
- Was nominated by Barack Obama as next Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
Inspirational Quotes from Ruth Porat
“You can’t cost-cut your way to greatness.”
“The most valuable thing you can have as a leader is clear data.”
“Women are still not reaching the most senior levels of corporations. This is not the shortcoming of women. We’re talented and smart.”
Ruth Porat Biography
Personal Life and Education
Born on July 20, 1957, Porat was born in Cheshire, England was of Jewish descent. At a young age, she moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where her father, Dr. Dan Porat, worked at the Physics research department at Harvard University.
After three years, they later moved to Palo Alto, California, where her father worked at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory for more or less 26 years.
Porat was an intelligent woman who earned her bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Economics from Stanford University and her master’s degree in industrial relations from the London School of Economics.
She is also strict when it comes to discipline, and according to her colleagues and friends, she’s a workaholic. In fact, she often worked to the point where she was taking work calls even when she was about to give birth at the hospital to keep her clients reassured.
She’s a wise woman who already had solutions for future crises. Since 1983, Porat has been married to her husband, who is also her law firm partner. She is also a breast cancer survivor who beat the condition not once but twice, as revealed in her interviews.
Career
Her career started in 1987 when she became part of Morgan Stanley’s Mergers and Acquisitions department, where she saved the company from a crash in the stock market. She left shortly afterward to follow President Robert F. Greenhill to Smith Barney but eventually returned to Morgan Stanley in 1996, albeit in a demoted position.
In 2000, Porat became the head of the technology banking department and was moved to London to assist businesses such as eBay, Amazon, Priceline, Netscape, etc.
The same year, she and Mary Meeker were able to keep the companies into the game even during the dot-com crash with their solutions. Her achievements earned her the position of Vice Chairman for the Investment Banking Division, a position she served for 6 years.
During those years, she was also appointed to take charge as the Global Head for the financial institution during various economic crises.
Skillfully, she was able to maneuver the United States Department of Treasury even as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae took over and in 2008 was of great assistance to the New York Federal Reserve Bank deal with the AIG. By January 2010, she was hailed as Morgan Stanley’s Chief Financial Officer and EVP.
However, in May 2015, Porat left Morgan Stanley to become the CFO and Senior Vice President of Alphabet Inc., handling the company’s business operations, real estate services, people operation, and the finance division.
Her competence in finance and incredible discipline gained the investors’ trust and eventually made her one of the greatest and most powerful women in the business industry.
Awards and Achievements
Porat’s career was featured in the book “How Remarkable Women Lead” by Joanna Barsh and Susie Cranston in 2009, and she earned the title as the Best Financial Institution CFO and Best Internet CFO from the Institutional Investor Magazine in 2014 and 2018, respectively.
Porat was also on the list of the most powerful women globally for both Forbes and Fortune Magazine.
Porat is also a valuable member of the Board of Directors for different companies like the University’s endowment, The Council on Foreign Relations, Stanford University Management Company, and the Blackstone Group.
She also used to be a member of Stanford University’s Board of Trustees, United States Treasury’s Borrowing Advisory Committee, and Economic Club of New York’s Board of Trustees.
She is also part of the Advisory Council of Hutchins Center at the Brookings Institution and Aspen Institute’s Economic Strategy Group.
