Q and A with Matt Brittin, Vice President of Google for Northern and Central Europe, and a video of his lecture

By Laura Gallagher
Friday 11 November 2011

The Vice President of Google for Northern and Central Europe shared tales of the organisation’s ongoing quest to make the internet faster and its users happier, in a Distinguished Guest Lecture last night at Imperial College Business School.

Google’s stated mission is to “organise the world‘s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” In a lecture theatre packed with staff, students and guests, Matt Brittin explained how Google is constantly evaluating how to improve web searches, which can now be carried out at speeds of a hundredth of a second. A video of the talk can be viewed below.

To illustrate the lengths that the company has gone to in order to increase the speed with which users click through the website, Matt explained that Google trialled over forty shades of blue to find a particular shade that made users click through more quickly.

Matt’s engaging talk also covered issues such as how mobile technologies are transforming the way people use the internet, and how Google is adapting what it offers to consumers in order to cater for this. He also discussed how information about the patterns of internet searches is giving businesses a great insight into what consumers they should be targeting with their products and how best to go about this.

Google has been voted the top MBA employer for the fifth year in the row. Pictured above is an indoor bike lane in its offices in the Netherlands.

Laura Gallagher asked Matt some questions to find out more about this high flyer at one of the world’s most influential companies.

Your talk was about using internet technology to engage consumers in new and powerful ways. Can you give examples of how you think the online world is likely to change over the next few years?
Many people are still staggered by the growing importance of the internet economy. A report last year by the Boston Consulting Group, which we commissioned, found that in the UK it represented £100bn and is growing at 10% each year. Within that big picture, it’s clear that mobile is an increasing phenomenon, for consumers and businesses. 79% of smartphone internet users use their phones to help them when shopping - this is already a big deal and is becoming even more important as phones continue to develop and become a greater part of our daily lives. 

What does your typical day at work look like?
Hugely varied, from meeting customers, to talking with our incredible engineering teams, to video conferences with the team in the US. There’s always something new going on, Google’s not the kind of place that has a fixed routine!

What are your biggest challenges?
I think the biggest challenge for everyone working in the technology world is staying ahead of the pace of change. You can’t rest on your laurels for one minute. Even popular services like Google search are constantly being developed and improved - for instance, in 2010 we ran over 20,000 experiments and launched over 500 improvements to search.

Google has topped this year’s list of 100 Top MBA Employers for the fifth year in a row, according to the research firm Universum. Why do you think it is considered such a great place to work?
There are lots of highly visible things that people like about Google, from the free cafes, on-site massages, and the financial benefits we provide. But if you talk to most people here, it’s clear that the number one attraction is the chance to work on technology that is genuinely changing the world.

What advice would you give to budding high flyers and any student who is keen to come and work with you?
The keys to success are thinking big, taking risks, and being fast to adapt. Google has always taken risks - very successful products like Android, Google Translate, Chrome and so on are all the result of entrepreneurship within the company. Sometimes it’s easier to succeed with big ideas than small ones, not least because you’re more likely to excite others to join you if you’re working on something that will have a huge impact.

In the past, you’ve won medals for Britain in the World Rowing championships. With such a demanding job now, do you ever find time to go out on the river?
Sadly I’m not quite in the shape I once was, and my back had serious objections last time I went out on the river! I’m more of a cyclist these days, and earlier this year I had a lot of fun doing a charity ride from John O’Groats to Land’s End. 

Speeding up the web and finding the right shade of blue: Google Vice President shares his insights

business, lecture, business school, google