Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ:
GOOGL) took a leaf out of Twitter Inc
(NYSE: TWTR)'s playbook as it appointed its first African-American board member, naming Roger
Ferguson, Jr. to its board of directors.
A CNN Money report said Twitter
appointed its first African-American board member, Debra Lee, earlier this year after one of its largest investors criticized it as
a "country club of old white guys."
Alphabet said Ferguson, who was the former vice chairman of U.S. Federal Reserve, "is a respected leader in the economics and
finance industries, and will serve on Alphabet's Audit Committee."
Ferguson's appointment went into effect June 24, 2016.
Related Link: Google's Madrid Office
Was Just Raided
"I'm so excited that Roger has agreed to join our Board," said Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of the board of directors,
Alphabet. "He has a long record of distinguished and thoughtful service in the private and public sectors, and deeply understands
how technology can improve the lives of people around the world."
According to the company, just 2 percent of Google's overall workforce is black,
while 60 percent is white. Ferguson has been praised for integrating diversity when he was the president and chief executive
officer of TIAA, a major financial services company.
© 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.