Google has picked its leader for its new Durham hub. She has local roots.
Google has picked Kamala Subramaniam, a software engineer with deep ties to the Triangle, to lead its planned cloud computing hub in Durham.
Google is building an engineering hub in downtown Durham, with plans to eventually employ around 1,000 people in the Bull City.
Subramaniam will be tasked with growing the Durham office into one the company’s five largest engineering hubs — which will have a special emphasis on Google’s cloud computing efforts.
She is not be a newcomer to the area. She spent several years in Raleigh, getting master’s and doctorate degrees from North Carolina State University’s computer engineering department. She graduated from N.C. State in 2006, according to her LinkedIn bio, and is a member of the school’s Computer Science Strategic Advisory Board.
Google said Subramaniam also will focus on building a relationship between the tech giant and local universities.
When Google announced March 18 it had chosen Durham for its hub — without seeking incentives from the state — officials lauded the local talent and universities as two of its big draws.
“The Triangle region ... is home to highly skilled software engineers, including those with a focus on infrastructure,” said Marian Croak, vice president of engineering at Google, to announce the Google Cloud hub. “This makes the region an ideal area to recruit and grow our engineering teams.”
Subramaniam was not immediately available for an interview, according to a spokesperson for Google.
She has worked at Google since 2016, and has primarily been based in the Bay Area, where she was an engineering lead for Google’s cloud and data centers networks. She is also the diversity and inclusion leader for Google Networking, and will emphasize hiring underrepresented talent at Google, the company said.
Prior to joining Google, she worked on Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing network, one of the dominant players in the space.
Cloud computing, which allows companies to move on-premise data storage to remote servers, has been seen rapid growth in the past decade — especially as companies move to allow more remote work.
Amazon has been the biggest player in cloud computing for years, and last year accounted for 41% of the market, according to research firm Gartner. However, its grip has slowly been loosening.
Microsoft’s Azure is now the second largest provider of cloud storage, controlling around 20% of the market. Google has quickly been gaining market share, and now has a 6.1% market share.
IBM and Red Hat, which have a large presence in the Triangle, control a much smaller share of the market.
Google has begun hiring its first employees in Durham. The company is subleasing office space from Duke University at 200 Morris St. for the next three years while it looks for a permanent landing spot in Durham.
Previously, Google said it plans to be methodical in its hiring approach, gradually ramping up its headcount over the coming years. The company said it plans to have 500 employees in Durham by the end of 2023.
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate.
This story was originally published July 7, 2021 at 10:52 AM with the headline "Google has picked its leader for its new Durham hub. She has local roots.."
