Google 2011 Annual Report Download - page 22

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been tremendous, funding our activities and generating signifi cant gains for our
shareholders. Others have been less successful. But the ability to take these kinds
of risks has been crucial to Google’s overall success and we aim to maintain this
pioneering culture going forward.
The proposal we announced on April 12 is consistent with the governance philosophy
we articulated when we took the company public, as well as the trend for newer
technology companies to adopt strong dual-class structures. We believe that it will
provide great competitive strength—insulating Google from short-term pressures,
whatever the source, for a long time to come, while also giving us more fl exibility
around equity grants.
Investors and others have always taken a big bet on us, the founders, and that bet
will likely last longer as a result of these changes. We are honored that so many of you
have put your trust in us and we recognize the tremendous responsibility that rests on
our shoulders. We think this is a good thing because users rely on Google to produce
and operate amazing technology products and to safely and responsibly store their
data. This is our passion.
Sergey and I share a profound belief in the potential for technology to improve
people’s lives and we are enormously excited about what lies ahead. I couldn’t write
a better conclusion to this founder’s letter than what we wrote in 2004… so here goes:
XX