• by Tanya Gazdik , April 15, 2009

Larry Brilliant, Google's chief philanthropic evangelist, posted that he is leaving the company May 5 to become president of the Skoll Urgent Threats Fund.

Brilliant was the startup executive director for Google.org for three years before moving into his current position in February. He was recruited to his new job by Jeff Skoll, founding president of eBay, who Brilliant describes as "long time friend of many Googlers, and a 'practicing philanthropist' for over a decade."

Skoll, who founded the Skoll Foundation 10 years ago, is creating the new Skoll Urgent Threats Fund. The organization will make grants and advocate. Brilliant will also sit on the board of the Skoll Foundation, and will be senior advisor to Skoll on his media and financial investments companies. Brilliant said he will continue to work with Google.org as an advisor.

"Google.org and the Skoll Foundation already work together to support 'virus hunter' Nathan Wolfe whose Global Viral Forecasting Initiative collects and analyzes blood samples of humans and animals in hot spots," Brilliant said. "And many of the Skoll Awardees have played an important role in our thinking at Google.org and in the development of other projects and grants. So these two organizations are neither competitors nor strangers, but rather friends and colleagues."

Brilliant said it was Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin's vision to make approximately 1% of Google's equity and profits and substantial employee time devoted to philanthropy. "I hope other corporations will follow the example to devote significant resources to the greater good and I support Google.org's fundamental mission 'to use the power of information and technology to address the global challenges of our age,'" Brilliant said.