Kent Walker
President, Global Affairs; Chief Legal Officer and Secretary at GOOGL
Executive
About Kent Walker
Kent Walker, 64, serves as President, Global Affairs and Chief Legal Officer of Alphabet and Google (since November 2021) and Secretary of Alphabet (since January 2020); he previously held executive legal roles at Google since 2006 and earlier senior roles at Netscape, AOL, and eBay . He holds a BA in social studies from Harvard and a JD from Stanford Law School; he co-chairs Google’s AI Responsibility Council and Trust & Compliance Council, overseeing content policy, legal, and regulatory matters across the enterprise . As a named executive officer (NEO), his long-term PSU payouts are tied to Alphabet’s relative TSR versus the S&P 100; the 2022–2024 PSU cycle paid 98.99% of target based on TSR ranking at the 49.49th percentile, evidencing pay-performance linkage . Alphabet’s 2024 strategy emphasized the rollout of Gemini models and AI integration into core products and Cloud, which the Board highlighted as drivers of innovation and user impact .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alphabet/Google | President, Global Affairs; Chief Legal Officer; Secretary | Nov 2021–present (President/CLO); Jan 2020–present (Secretary) | Oversees content policy, government/regulatory affairs, legal, risk and compliance; co-chairs AI Responsibility Council |
| SVP, Global Affairs & Chief Legal Officer | Jun 2018–Nov 2021 | Led Google’s advocacy on competition, content, copyright, and privacy | |
| Executive legal leadership | Since 2006 | Built and led global legal and policy function | |
| Netscape | Executive position | Not disclosed | Prior executive experience in tech legal/business roles |
| AOL | Executive position | Not disclosed | Prior executive experience in tech legal/business roles |
| eBay | Executive position | Not disclosed | Prior executive experience in tech legal/business roles |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| TechNet | Executive Council | Not disclosed | Industry public policy network |
| Evidence Action | Board of Directors | Not disclosed | Non-profit board service |
| Council on Foreign Relations | Member | Not disclosed | Policy and international affairs organization |
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 1,007,692 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | 12,541 | 11,737 | 12,004 |
- Perquisites/benefits available to NEOs include personal use of non-commercial aircraft (incremental cost basis), company car for certain executives, and standard 401(k) match; Kent’s “All Other Compensation” reflects these categories in aggregate .
Performance Compensation
Incentive Cash (SVP Bonus)
| Metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SVP Bonus ($) | 775,000 | 1,500,000 | 2,000,000 |
- 2024 SVP bonuses focused on progress in sustainable operations and product launches; program discontinued effective February 28, 2025, with target value shifted into annual PSUs from 2025 onward .
Equity Awards – 2024 Grants
| Grant Date | Type | Target Units/Value | Fair Value ($) | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2024 | GSUs | 113,401 units | 18,775,804 | 1/6 vested on Jun 25, 2024; then 1/12 quarterly until fully vested |
| May 1, 2024 | PSUs | Target 31,501 units; Threshold 15,751; Max 63,002 | 8,278,148 | Vests within 45 days after performance period (Jan 1, 2024–Dec 31, 2026) based on relative TSR 0–200% |
- 2024 GSU/PSU share counts based on April 2024 average Class C price of $158.73 per share .
Equity Awards – 2025 Grants
| Grant Date | Type | Target Units/Value | Annual Target Value ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 2025 | GSUs | 116,407 units | 19,000,000 | Includes transitional GSU amount due to SVP Bonus discontinuation |
| Feb 28, 2025 | PSUs | 37,609 units | 7,000,000 | Performance period Jan 1, 2025–Dec 31, 2027; relative TSR 0–200%; share counts use Feb 2025 avg price $186.13 |
PSU Performance Metrics and Payouts
| PSU Cycle | Metric | Target | Actual | Payout | Vest Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022–2024 (Kent) | Relative TSR vs S&P 100 | 100% target | TSR 22.55%; 49.49th percentile rank | 98.99% of target (34,108 shares incl. dividends) | Certified Jan 9, 2025; vests within 45 days |
| 2024–2026 (Kent) | Relative TSR vs S&P 100 | 31,501 target shares | In progress | 0–200% | Within 45 days after Dec 31, 2026 |
| 2025–2027 (Kent) | Relative TSR vs S&P 100 | 37,609 target shares | In progress | 0–200% | Within 45 days after Dec 31, 2027 |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
Beneficial Ownership (Voting Stock)
- As of April 8, 2025, Kent Walker was not reported as holding Class A or Class B voting shares in the beneficial ownership table; non-voting Class C capital stock is not included in that table .
Outstanding Unvested Equity (as of Dec 31, 2024)
| Award | Shares Unvested (#) | Market Value ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 GSUs | 75,857 | 14,446,297 |
| 2023 GSUs | 56,609 | 10,780,618 |
| 2024 PSUs (target-level display incl. dividend equivalents) | 31,608 | 6,019,428 |
| 2023 PSUs (target-level display incl. dividend equivalents) | 47,174 | 8,983,817 |
| 2022 PSUs (earned 98.99%) | 34,108 | 6,495,528 |
Vested in Fiscal 2024
| Metric | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Shares Acquired on Vesting (#) | 232,782 |
| Value Realized on Vesting ($) | 37,928,303 |
- Ownership policy: Senior vice presidents must hold at least $7.5 million in Alphabet stock; NEOs either met requirements or were within the grace period as of December 31, 2024 .
- Hedging/pledging: Executive officers are prohibited from hedging, pledging, short-selling, margin accounts, and certain orders in Alphabet securities .
Employment Terms
| Provision | Terms |
|---|---|
| Change in Control | If successor does not assume/substitute awards: all unvested GSUs fully vest; target PSUs fully vest . |
| Death (GSUs) | Immediate full vesting upon termination by reason of death (NEOs and directors) . |
| Death (PSUs) | If before/within performance period: target PSUs vest; if after period but before determination: earned PSUs vest at determination date . |
| Termination without Cause (PSUs) | Pro-rated based on service days in performance period; vests at determination date based on actual performance . |
| Clawback | Alphabet Inc. Clawback Policy adopted Oct 2023 to comply with SEC Rule 10D-1 and Nasdaq standards . |
| Severance | No additional or accelerated compensation agreements beyond provisions above . |
Compensation Peer Group & Governance
- 2024 peer group (unchanged from 2023): Amazon, Apple, Cisco, Comcast, Intel, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, Oracle, Salesforce, Walt Disney; used for benchmarking executive compensation .
- Compensation Committee: Independent directors (Chair Robin L. Washington, L. John Doerr, K. Ram Shriram) oversee executive compensation, equity plans, ownership requirements, consultants (Compensia Inc., Semler Brossy), and risk assessment .
- Say-on-Pay cadence: Advisory say-on-pay vote scheduled for 2026; say-when-on-pay vote scheduled for 2029 .
Compensation Summary (Multi-Year)
| Metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary ($) | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 1,007,692 |
| Stock Awards ($) | 22,663,723 | 24,831,430 | 27,143,064 |
| Non-Equity Incentive Plan ($) | 775,000 | 1,500,000 | 2,000,000 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | 12,541 | 11,737 | 12,004 |
| Total ($) | 24,451,264 | 27,343,167 | 30,162,760 |
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- No change-in-control cash benefits; equity accelerates only if awards are not assumed/substituted, aligning incentives with continuity .
- Strict anti-hedging/pledging policy reduces misalignment risk; compliance with Section 16 filings noted (no delinquency reported for Kent in 2024) .
- Large annual vesting (232,782 shares vested in 2024) may create periodic liquidity/overhang; actual selling requires Form 4 analysis not provided here .
Investment Implications
- Compensation design is heavily equity-based with PSUs tied to relative TSR, reinforcing alignment with shareholder returns; 2022–2024 PSU payout near target (98.99%) indicates performance roughly in-line with peers .
- Discontinuation of annual cash SVP bonus and shift into PSUs increases at-risk pay, tightening performance linkage and potential volatility of realized compensation .
- Strong retention through multi-year GSU schedules (quarterly vesting over several years) and PSU horizons (3-year cycles); no pledging permitted, and clawback policy in place, lowering governance risk .
- Insider selling pressure should be monitored around vesting dates; 2024 vesting magnitude was material for Kent; use Form 4 tracking to gauge net buying/selling behavior going forward .