One of Google’s earliest and most senior employees will step back from an executive management role, in a shakeup of the company’s cloud unit, according to CNBC.

Urs Holzle joined the company, now the key unit of parent Alphabet Inc., in 1999 as its eighth employee, and will now transition into a role as an “individual contributor” after more than two decades of leading technical teams, CNBC reported, citing an internal email from Google Cloud Chief Executive Officer Thomas Kurian. The veteran will focus on articulating technical AI processes, facilitating discussions, and streamlining decision making, according to the memo.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Holzle previously sparked internal controversy when he moved to New Zealand in 2021, after opposing remote working for other employees during the pandemic, outlets including CNET reported at the time.

His new role adds to a series of changes at Google in recent weeks, including the departure of key artificial intelligence researcher Llion Jones. In April, Google consolidated its AI research groups into one unit, which shifted its longtime AI executive Jeff Dean into a new role as chief scientist.

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