Thursday, June 4, 2009

Interview with Marissa Mayer, VP of Search Products and User Experience at Google



One of my favorite interviews I’ve done. I was so impressed with Marissa—she’s so incredibly geeky smart it’s like you’re talking to someone from a different planet. And at the same time, she’s into fashion, art, even cake design. She's the one who got the ball rolling on the artistically designed Google homepages. Love her.

Published on womenworking.com Oct. 2008

A Google Mastermind
Marissa Mayer
VP Search Products and User Experience
Google, Inc.

What's it like to be one of the top women in one of the most popular companies in the world? Marissa hasn't really thought much about it. "I identify more as a 'geek,'" says this tenacious and energetic 33-year-old. "I love technology. I'm surrounded by people that are interested in and passionate about the same thing. What's it like to be a geek at Google? It's great."
Marissa, who is in charge of the applications that directly affect user experience, like the Google homepage layout, web search, image search, maps, and toolbar functions, joined the company from its inception. She was their first female engineer. "It was a bit of a risky and scary place to come at that time. It was not clear to me why the world needed another search engine. No one had heard of it, and I could already hear the family reunion jokes: 'When Marissa graduated from Stanford, she went to a company called 'Google.' The name itself is like a punch line," she laughs. "I realized it was either going to be one of the better decisions I've ever made, or one that would cause me to be mocked later on by my family."

But risks, as Marissa points out, are what help you realize your potential, and taking them has been in her nature from the start of her career. After graduating with a master's degree from Stanford, she worked at a UBS research lab in Zurich, Switzerland, where she didn't know anyone or speak the language. When the offer came to work for Google, she reflected on this experience and others that have served her well, like going to Stanford, changing her major from Biology to Symbolic Systems, and working at SRI International. "I tried to understand what all these decisions had in common. The two things I realized were: I always worked with the smartest people I could find, and I always did something I wasn't quite ready to do."

According to Marissa, the most challenging parts of her job are learning to manage a team that grows larger and larger and launching products in countries where she hasn't been, in a language she doesn't speak. "Those are things you learn as you go and they may be hard, but ultimately they make you better at your job."

When she isn't managing her team of over 250 people, Marissa teaches introductory computer programming classes at Stanford and arranges outings for employees and their family and friends.

She is also a business partner of I Dream of Cake, a cake "gallery" established by artist Shinmin Li. "I found her through Craigslist and she had made a few cakes for me. I asked if she wanted to go into business together. She's another example of how being passionate and striving to be the best has put her ahead," says Marissa. "To me, working on the cake business and Google isn't all that different from each other. They involve planning, execution, and a lot of hard work to get to a final finished product. When you are willing to put time and energy in, that's when you start to see products that are more innovative and ahead of what is offered."


More From Marissa:

On Criticism: "I see why Google has been interesting to reporters. When something is wrong with our product, they write about it. I look at the criticisms and try to see what we can do better. It's a good check and balance because users can choose to go to a different search engine tomorrow. It keeps us humble. But generally I think its best not to dwell on that. Day to day I'm focused on leading my team and how we are delivering our products to users."

On Working in Technology: "I remember being five, watching the 'Jetsons' and thinking, 'This is going to be so great. By the time I'm old--say, 30--there will be flying cars!' When I look at the many different innovative things that are happening all over the place, I'm proud to play even a small role in it."

Her Most Influential Mentor: "I took an introductory programming course at Stanford, and I entered a programming contest for extra credit. I think I won or was the runner-up, but the really interesting thing that came out of that was I got to have dinner at the professor's house. Professor Eric Roberts had us over and took the opportunity to encourage us to keep going in computer science, to become section leaders, and TA's, and lecturers, which I did. Being encouraged by someone made all the difference and ignited my passion."

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