Google Hires Dr. Kai-Fu Lee as Vice President, Engineering and President of Google China

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - Google Inc. will open a product research and development center in China, and has hired computer scientist and industry pioneer, Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, to lead the operation and serve as president of the company's growing Chinese operations.

The Google China RandD center will open in the third quarter of 2005.

"It has always been my goal to make advanced technologies accessible and useful to every user, as well as to be part of the vibrant growth and innovation in China today," said Dr. Kai-Fu Lee. "Joining Google uniquely enables me to pursue both of my passions and I look forward to returning to China to begin this exciting endeavor."

Lee, who is known for his work in the areas of speech recognition and artificial intelligence, joins Google from Microsoft, where he most recently held the position of corporate vice president, after founding Microsoft Research China in the late 1990s. Prior to joining Microsoft, Lee was a vice president and general manager at Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI), responsible for Internet and multimedia software. Lee also spent six years at Apple, serving as vice president of the company's interactive media group, and before that was an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University.

"Google has emerged as a very successful leader in technology. Dr. Kai-Fu Lee possesses the perfect combination of technical brilliance, leadership excellence, and business savvy, and he cares deeply about the students and education in China," said Gu Binglin, president of Tsinghua University. "Dr. Lee is the ideal candidate to do great things for Google and for China."

The Google China RandD center is the latest addition to Google's global engineering offices, which include Tokyo, Japan; Zurich, Switzerland; Bangalore, India; New York, New York; Santa Monica, Calif.; Kirkland, Wash. and Mountain View, Calif.