Google Cloud taps ex-Microsoft, Oracle exec to lead N. America charge

  • Matt Renner is Google Cloud's new President of North America and Global Startups

  • He joined Google earlier this year from Microsoft and also spent a significant amount of time at Oracle

  • A recent HGInsights report found big spenders make up a miniscule portion of Google Cloud's customer base

There’s a new sheriff in town. Or rather, a new driving force behind Google Cloud’s plans to dominate North America and the global startup scene. Matt Renner, an ex-Microsoft executive who joined Google Cloud’s go-to-market team earlier this year, was just tapped to lead the charge.

In his new role, Renner will lead teams responsible for serving enterprises all the way down to small and medium businesses.

Matt Renner headshot

According to his LinkedIn page, Renner joined Google Cloud in April, serving as Global Chief Operating Officer in its go-to-market division. He jumped to Google after spending nearly four years as president of Microsoft’s U.S. Enterprise business. There, he had responsibility for more than 2,000 of the company’s largest U.S. commercial accounts and oversaw more than $50 billion in annual revenue and bookings.

Renner’s experience also includes a short stint as EVP of Salesforce’s Cloud Sales organization and 20 years serving in various roles at Oracle. He ended his tenure at the latter as SVP of Sales for North America.

Commenting on his new role, Renner said Google Cloud “has industry-defining products and services across infrastructure, data and analytics, AI, and more” and its “future is as bright as it’s ever been.”

Google Cloud did not immediately respond to a request for comment about what initiatives Renner will be focusing on.

However, it is possible he could help the company in its pursuit of larger cloud contracts. During Q1 2023 earnings in April, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that over the past three years, Google Cloud Platform’s annual deal volume jumped by nearly 500%, with “large deals over $250 million growing more than 300%.” He did not provide a geographic breakdown of where those deals came from.

But bigger deals are good news for Google Cloud. A recent report from HGInsights found that of the big three hyperscalers, Google Cloud customer base had the smallest percentage (.05%) of enterprise customers that spend $100,000 or more per month. Microsoft led the pack with 5% and Amazon Web Services trailed with 2.3%.

Maybe Renner can help?


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