Controversy-dogged Google has hired an experienced lawyer and international policy activist to defend its efforts to extend the reach of its internet search engine. Elliot Schrage, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, will be joining Google as it re-embarks on its ambitious plan to digitise the contents of a number of leading university libraries and make the information searchable online.
The dispute with book publishers and authors � the most acrimonious the company has faced over its growing influence on the web � is a sign of the anxiety it has started to create in other quarters of the media industry.
"Elliot Schrage's experience and demonstrated commitment to transparency and global corporate citizenship will be an asset to Google as we continue to grow and explore new opportunities around the world," said Google chief executive officer Eric Schmidt.
Fortyfive-year-old Schrage, who was named vice-president of global communications and public affairs and will report to Schmidt, said "Google is successfully pursuing its ambitious mission with an impressive combination of innovation, execution and leadership. I look forward to working with my new colleagues to explain the steps Google is taking to improve the accessibility and usefulness of the world's information to people everywhere ".
Schrage comes to Google with impeccable credentials for a company that has declared part of its mission to be "making the world a better place". As senior vice-president of global affairs at Gap, he led the US clothing company's efforts to bring better working practices to its suppliers' factories in developing countries. He also taught a course on the social consequences of globalisation as an adjunct professor at Columbia University Business School.
The appointment fills a gap in Google's senior executive ranks that has been vacant since the departure last year of Cindy McCaffrey, vice-president of marketing. While McCaffrey was a former journalist and public relations professional, Schrage's background appeared to point to the more central role Google expects to play in debates over public policy as it assumes a more central role in online activity.
