An international public health specialist with wide-ranging experience in technology and business will take the helm of Google's philanthropic arm, the company said Wednesday. Dr. Larry Brilliant, 61, was named executive director of Google.org, which has set aside more than $7 million for investments and grants related to several broad areas, including global poverty, health, energy and the environment.
Brilliant, an award-winning physician and epidemiologist, began his career as a World Health Organization officer and lived for more than a decade in India, where he focused on the fight against smallpox and polio. In the technology realm, he is perhaps best known for co-founding the pioneering online community known as The Well.
