Google 2010 Annual Report Download - page 30

corrupt payments to governmental officials, and anti-competition regulations, among others. Violations of these
laws and regulations could result in fines and penalties, criminal sanctions against us, our officers, or our
employees, prohibitions on the conduct of our business and on our ability to offer our products and services in one
or more countries, and could also materially affect our brand, our international expansion efforts, our ability to
attract and retain employees, our business, and our operating results. Although we have implemented policies and
procedures designed to ensure compliance with these laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that our
employees, contractors, or agents will not violate our policies.
Furthermore, since we conduct business in currencies other than U.S. dollars but report our financial results in
U.S. dollars, we face exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Although we hedge a portion of our
international currency exposure, significant fluctuations in exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign
currencies may adversely affect our net income. Additionally, hedging programs are inherently risky and could
expose us to additional risks that could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
If we were to lose the services of Larry, Sergey, Eric, or other members of our senior management
team, we may not be able to execute our business strategy.
Our future success depends in a large part upon the continued service of key members of our senior
management team. In particular, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric E. Schmidt are critical to the overall
management of Google, as well as the development of our technology, our culture, and our strategic direction. All
of our executive officers and key employees are at-will employees, and we do not maintain any key-person life
insurance policies. The loss of any of our management or key personnel could seriously harm our business.
We rely on highly skilled personnel and, if we are unable to retain or motivate key personnel, hire
qualified personnel, or maintain our corporate culture, we may not be able to grow effectively.
Our performance largely depends on the talents and efforts of highly skilled individuals. Our future success
depends on our continuing ability to identify, hire, develop, motivate, and retain highly skilled personnel for all areas
of our organization. Competition in our industry for qualified employees is intense, and certain of our competitors
have directly targeted our employees. In addition, our compensation arrangements, such as our equity award
programs, may not always be successful in attracting new employees and retaining and motivating our existing
employees. Our continued ability to compete effectively depends on our ability to attract new employees and to
retain and motivate our existing employees.
In addition, we believe that our corporate culture fosters innovation, creativity, and teamwork. As our
organization grows, and we are required to implement more complex organizational management structures, we
may find it increasingly difficult to maintain the beneficial aspects of our corporate culture. This could negatively
impact our future success.
Our business depends on continued and unimpeded access to the internet by us and our users.
Internet access providers may be able to block, degrade, or charge for access to certain of our products
and services, which could lead to additional expenses and the loss of users and advertisers.
Our products and services depend on the ability of our users to access the internet, and certain of our
products require significant bandwidth to work effectively. Currently, this access is provided by companies that
have significant market power in the broadband and internet access marketplace, including incumbent telephone
companies, cable companies, mobile communications companies, and government-owned service providers.
Some of these providers have taken, or have stated that they may take, measures that could degrade, disrupt, or
increase the cost of user access to certain of our products by restricting or prohibiting the use of their
infrastructure to support or facilitate our offerings, or by charging increased fees to us or our users to provide our
offerings. Such interference could result in a loss of existing users and advertisers, and increased costs, and could
impair our ability to attract new users and advertisers, thereby harming our revenues and growth.
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