Marissa Mayer Is Nominated To Serve On Walmart’s Board

Google’s top woman has been nominated to serve on the board of Walmart. The massive retailer corporation made the announcement today that Marissa Mayer could potentially take the board’s 16^th spot.

And yes, it’s that same Marissa Mayer…you know…the same high-profile Google executive whose brother allegedly brutally beat up his girlfriend and threatened to throw her off San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge…

At only 36, Ms. Mayer will be the youngest person on the board if elected at the company’s shareholder’s meeting on June 1^st. I was reading through different articles about her nomination to board, many questioned whether she is the right fit for the company’s board. She doesn’t really have much experience outside of Google, if any at all. She was hired at Google straight out of graduate school in 1999 and shuffled around at that Google ever since.

Is she a one-hit wonder? Can her leadership skills at Google translate over to other companies that operate in a completely different way? Walmart seems to think that she can be useful in helping them with their online services. Google benefits from learning about how a retail giant does business.

Anyway, it’s interesting news and I thought it is worth posting. She said this in a statement:

“I have long been a customer and admirer of the company. Walmart is an amazing story of entrepreneurship and, as one of the world’s most powerful brands, touches millions of lives every day. I look forward to contributing to Walmart’s continued growth, success, and innovation in the years to come”

And according to Forbes, she also serves on the boards of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Ballet, the New York City Ballet and the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

For more information:

The Register, “Google’s top female cheese nominated to serve on Walmart board” – click here

Wall Street Journal, “Wal-Mart Taps Google’s Marissa Mayer for Board Seat” – click here

Forbes, “Wal-Mart Names Google’s Marissa Mayer To Its Board” – click here

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Google Executive’s Family Allegedly Made Life Of Abuse Victim A Living Nightmare

Last month I published an article titled “Victim of Brutal Beating Says She’s ‘Afraid’ of Google Executive’s Family”. It was one of the most read and commented on posts I’ve published on my blog. I received great feedback and the vast majority of readers appreciate knowing about this disturbing story involving a major Google executive’s family. If you haven’t already read that article please do so before reading this one – click here

After I posted my article I received an email from a person who said they wanted to set the record straight about what happened to Mason Mayer’s alleged victim, Kelli Trent. This person told me that they were troubled by false information being spread around and asked for my assistance in having Kelli’s side of the story told.

This person told me lots of information about the Mayer family and the dysfunctional relationship between Mason Mayer and Kelli Trent. This person has politely asked that I not reveal their identity and so I have decided to respect their privacy. I will simply refer to this person as my “source” from this point on.

The information my source revealed to me is disturbing, to say the least. It will give you a greater sense of what happened before the night of the alleged abuse and what took place after that night.

Kelli Trent is an intelligent and hardworking young woman. She moved to San Francisco back in 2005 after completing college and has been consistently employed ever since. Her friends describe her as being very generous and she always tries to help out any way she could. My source wanted to point out that Kelli comes from “a decent amount of wealth herself” and that she often pays for the needs of loved ones without hesitation. She has held some jobs in banking and she even recently tried her hand in a startup company.

Kelli and Mason met back in early February 2011 on his birthday and they started dating immediately after that. Their relationship was very brief but even in that short time it was plagued with serious problems. My source alleges that Mason had been controlling and abusive toward Kelli on numerous occasions.

Mason had not lived in San Francisco for that long. He moved from Minneapolis in the fall of 2010 after his famous sister, Google executive Marissa Mayer, allowed him to live in her penthouse condo. My source alleges that the reason behind Mason’s move is due to him getting in legal trouble in Minneapolis after abusing a “rebound” girlfriend. Marissa apparently wanted to keep him away from “psycho girls” and moved him close to her. Mason and his ex-wife, Kara Mayer, divorced in July 2010.

After he moved to San Francisco and started dating Kelli everything was fine for the first few months. My source alleges that the abuse on Kelli actually began in May after she wanted to leave the relationship. The source showed me a photo of Kelli taken in May with a badly bruised inner arm. The source also alleges that a few days before the night of September 24^th Kelli and Mason were at a gym and he didn’t like the way she was interacting with men. He allegedly threw her belongings around and got physically aggressive with her.

Finally the abuse escalated to what took place on night of September 24^th. Kelli not only suffered physical injuries but she also sustained a concussion, was disoriented, and had fainting spells. After this incident, she took photographs of her injuries and sent them to Mason’s parents and Marissa was soon notified. My source claims that Kelli was shown little respect by the Mayer family and that they never asked if she was okay. Kelli demanded that Mason get help and the Mayer family came up with Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and therapy sessions – which Mason began two days after the family was notified.

The source claims that Kelli was never offered any financial assistance for her medical needs or for her therapy sessions, which she was badly in need of. Kelli pretty much had to suffer alone and isolated herself in the apartment she shared with a roommate. She didn’t go out much since the beating and only confided in a few close friends.

The source says that soon after, in early October, the Mayer family booked Mason a trip on a European holiday for two weeks, which Kelli took as being insensitive and an insult to her. The source says that the Mayer family neglected to understand the magnitude of the problems between Kelli and Mason. The family also didn’t hold Mason accountable for anything. This is when Kelli was starting to realize that she wanted out of the relationship and was pretty much done protecting the Mayer family.

Sadly, while the Mayer family was off on their European holiday, Kelli’s grandmother passed away. After hearing about her loss, she left to go to Tennessee to be with her family. While with her family, the source claims that Mason phone called Kelli and told her that she was not invited to the Mayer family pumpkin carving party. Marissa allegedly did not want Kelli at the party, which Kelli took as a slap in the face. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back and Kelli finally knew she was done with the relationship with Mason and done with the Mayer family.

Kelli came back to San Francisco on October 30^th and Mason was at the airport to pick her up. This is when Kelli broke up with him. The source alleges that Mason was infuriated by this and showed up later in the day to Kelli’s apartment threatening to release nude photos of her and allegedly vowed to smear her reputation. Mason then took the witness of the September 24^th beating to the family party.

On November 11^th Kelli went to the police to report everything that happened to her. Keep in mind that Kelli and Mason were not together often since the night of September 24^th and up until the day she finally reported the alleged abuse to the police. My source says that it took Kelli awhile to come to the realization that she desperately needed to leave the relationship for good. This is consistent with many victims of domestic abuse who feel like they can change their partner’s ways if they just stay in long enough and are often too afraid to leave.

Soon after a warrant was issued while Mason and the rest of the Mayer family were on their annual Thanksgiving holiday in Hawaii.

The source claims that this is when the campaign to discredit Kelli began and her reputation was torn to pieces. Kelli had her life investigated as Mason’s legal team started subpoenaing texts messages, called her former employers, contacted her ex-boyfriends, etc. The source claims that Kelli depends on a good reputation to secure jobs but obtaining employment in her field has become nearly impossible and that her life is in shatters.

The source described to me one incident in January when Kelli was asked to interview at a company event hosted at Founders Den – this is the workplace of Marissa Mayer’s husband, Zack Bogue. Kelli was in the middle of an interview at the event when suddenly Zack allegedly tapped Kelli on the shoulder and loudly told her to get out. Needless to say, Kelli was thoroughly shaken and embarrassed. She promptly left without finishing her interview. My source points out that Kelli had a stay-away order at the time which specified that any third parties related to Mason are not allowed to directly contact Kelli in any way, “so Zack had no right to speak to her that night”.

Kelli has now left San Francisco. This is a woman who depended on her networking capabilities to get jobs but life is harder for her now. The source says that Kelli never wanted to have all this trouble surrounding her – Kelli fell into a brief and tumultuous relationship with Mason which is a mistake she thoroughly regrets.

While Kelli has been suffering for the past 6 months – Mason has gone on holidays and he’s attended several San Francisco society events (thanks to his sister Marissa) such as the opening of a ballet and a Midwinter Gala. The source claims that Mason owns shares in Google, gifted to him by Marissa, and was invited to an exclusive Google company event featuring Lady Gaga back in March 2011. My source finds it revolting that Mason was being “flaunted” around by his family even after they knew what he did to Kelli.

Kelli has not retained a lawyer and is being represented by a District Attorney. The pretrial conference had been postponed three times since January and is now scheduled for April 18^th – if found guilty Mason faces a maximum of four years and eight months in state prison.

Disclaimer: Everything in this post should not be taken as fact. They’re allegations described to me by the source and it’s from their point of view of what occurred. There are many sides to everything and this is just one. If there are any issues you have with anything written in this post please email me.

Update On Domestic Abuse Case Will Be Posted Tomorrow

Hi guys:

Tomorrow I will be posting an exclusive article on my blog with more information about the domestic violence controversy surrounding the family of a major face of Google – Marissa Mayer. I have already posted on article about the case but the new article will give you more details about what allegedly happened.

It’s going to be really interesting, to say the least. Make sure you take some time to visit the blog tomorrow. In the meantime, take some time to get to know who Marissa Mayer is and what she does at Google.

Three years ago, The New York Times published an article titled “Putting a Bolder Face on Google” and it’s a fantastic read. It focuses on Marissa and really let’s you know more about her character. Here are some interesting quotes about her in the article:

“Mayer, who is Google Employee No. 20…A popular guest on TV news programs and talk shows, a Google-booster often quoted in print, and a rapid-fire presence on San Francisco’s social scene, she is the rare executive who has become — at least in the sometimes cloistered world of computer geeks — a celebrity”

“Ms. Mayer, 33, plays a pivotal, serious role at Google…She is one of the few Googlers with unfettered access to and influence over Mr. Brin and Mr. Page”

A 2009 Gawker.com article described her as “the best known Google executive outside the search engine’s CEO, Eric Schmidt, and its billionaire founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin”

Ms. Mayer has even dated the current Google CEO Larry Page at one point. This is a woman very much part of the identity of Google and a recognizable face of the company.

I’m leaving you a video of her on the Martha Stewart show and I will see you back here tomorrow

For more information:

New York Times – click here

Gawker – click here

Victim of Brutal Beating Says She Is “Afraid” of Google Executive’s Family

There is disturbing bombshell news that has been exposed the other day and it involves a major employee of Google. Marissa Mayer has been with Google since the very early days of the company, she is often said to be the 20^th employee of Google. As one of the very first employees of Google, Marissa knows a lot about Google and she is deeply embedded in this company. Her current job title is Vice President of Local, Maps, and Location services.

Marissa became a very wealthy woman after Google became a public company in 2004. She is often seen as the public face of Google itself. You see her everywhere doing all sorts of different interviews with newspapers and even on television programs like the Martha Stewart Show. She has become somewhat of a celebrity and a spokeswoman for Google. The company uses her bright smile and photogenic looks to give itself an attractive public image.

However, Google might want to keep Marissa out of the spotlight for awhile – perhaps never again. The innocent looking and charming woman Google used as the public face of the company is part of a family that isn’t so attractive.

Now, I have written here before that this blog doesn’t focus on tabloid topics or personal issues, but this particular case involving the Mayer family is different. I don’t like gossipy, irrelevant, and frivolous stuff – but I will focus on criminal activity that has strong connections to Google.

The younger brother of Marissa, Mason Mayer, has been accused of three felonies: assault, false imprisonment and domestic violence. He allegedly brutally beat his girlfriend, Kelli Ann Trent, after a night out back in September 2011. We are learning about this now because The San Francisco Appeal newspaper investigated this case and published their findings yesterday.

Alright – so here’s what happened, according to court documents obtained by the newspaper. An affidavit submitted by San Francisco Police Department Inspector Michael Becker, details exactly what allegedly happened between Mason Mayer and his girlfriend:

On the evening of September 24, Mason and Kelli were getting ready to go to a party. They were at Mason’s condo residence at the time. Prior to the leaving to go to the party, they had an argument over a woman – who Mason allegedly cheated with – attending the party too.

The couple went to the party but there was still tension between them. According to the court document, Mason angrily accused a bartender of hitting on his girlfriend. He also became angry at Kelli Ann Trent for speaking with Marissa Mayer’s husband. Mason apparently “dislikes” his brother-in-law for some reason.

The couple left the party and went back home to Mason’s condo residence. While walking through the building hallway, Mason shoved Kelli. He then took her inside the residence, locked her in his bedroom, and then threw Kelli on the floor of the bedroom.

Mason began spitting in the face of his girlfriend, pulling her hair out, and he slammed her head against the marble bedroom floor. Kelli was in agony and in the fetal position trying to protect herself. Mason repeatedly punched her in the face, while Kelli struggled to get away. He told her that the only way she was going to get out of the beating was by driving her to the Golden Gate Bridge and throwing her off it.

Luckily for Kelli, before things could get any worse, Mason’s cell phone started ringing. It was a friend of the couple who was calling to ask to pick up his personal items from the condo. While on the phone, Kelli screamed for help.

The friend eventually arrived at the condo residence and Mason answered the front door to let him in. Kelli ran out of the bedroom hysterical and crying out for help. Mason grabbed her and wouldn’t let her go. The friend asked Mason to let her go but he refused. The friend said that he would call the police if he didn’t let her go. After Mason finally agreed to let Kelli go, she went back into the bedroom to retrieve her bag.

But Mason followed her back into the bedroom and locked the door shut again. The friend decided to stay the night at the condo to make sure nothing bad happened. The next morning, Kelli got up and she noticed all the injuries to her body.

Kelli eventually went to the police to report what happened to her. The 33-year-old Mason Mayer was arrested by police on November 28, 2011. In January a judge ordered Mason to stay away from Kelli. He has pleaded not guilty – but if found guilty he faces a maximum four years and eight months in state prison. Mason Mayer has a pretrial conference in a Superior Court on April 18^th, 2012.

This is all so disturbing and vile. I need a shower after reading the court documents and seeing the injuries on the alleged victim. Mason Mayer is apparently very close to his famous sister and lives off her success. According to The San Francisco Appeal newspaper, Mason lives in the same luxury building as his sister and he was never worked since his sister struck it rich working at Google.

Just keep this in mind: these are the type of people you entrust your personal information with when you use Google. I certainly wouldn’t want people like Mason Mayer and his executive sister anywhere near my personal data. Knowing about the ethics and morals of the people who handle very sensitive data about you is so important.

 If I don’t trust you, I will not do business with you – ever.

UPDATE:

I wrote another article on this story with more details – click here

For more information:

The Francisco Appeal, “Brother of Google Executive Marissa Mayer Facing Charges…” – click here

SFGate, “Google executive’s brother accused of domestic attack” – click here

Google Plus Ad Campaign Is Boring And Fails To Promote Struggling Site

Google really doesn’t “get” social. It seems to me that they lack the ability to understand how people want to connect and how they interact. Google executives like Marissa Mayer have admitted that Google has fallen behind in the social aspect of the Web and they are desperately trying to play catch-up.

Well, today Google UK uploaded a video on YouTube advertising the company’s social networking site called Google Plus. The campaign to get more people to use Google Plus doesn’t impress me much. Their video is titled “Google+: Tom” and it shows a man going through life on Google Plus. We see the man add his wife to his circles, it then shows the couple’s newborn child, and other significant moments in life. The video ends with a future look at the aged man as he reminisces about his youth with his friends in a video chat.

Sorry, but the video is so dumb.

I find it so pretentious, over-the-top, and confusing. I don’t like how the video doesn’t show the consistent and linear progression of the man’s life. In my first passive viewing of the video I got confused about whose life was being shared – the dad or the child? When it switches from the little boy in the green school uniform to the prom scene, I thought it was the little boy grown up ha-ha…but it was actually the dad.

I had to take a closer second viewing of the video to catch the stuff I missed.

Afterwards the narrator goes on about being a solider, being in a cannon, being a Justice, and a wise soul ha-ha. It finally ends with a corny aged look of the man with his friends, and he then adds his grandchild to his circles.

I know what this video is trying to be, but I don’t think it successfully accomplished it. It doesn’t pull on the heartstrings, it doesn’t excite me, and it doesn’t make me want to use Google Plus. I don’t think the video is mainstream enough and, quite frankly, it’s boring.

Also, I really don’t want Google keeping decades of personal data of my life  “well saved” on Google Plus. No thanks!

Now compare this video with a video uploaded by Facebook last year, which Google pretty much tried to copy. The Facebook video is so much better and gets to the point. Facebook’s video shows the life of a man from birth to present-day. It’s easy to follow along, it’s organized well, the music is energized, it’s fast paced, it pulls on the heartstrings, it’s funny, and it just works.

The Facebook video feels fun and fresh – while the Google video comes across as old and high-brow. Facebook is more inclusive while Google is more like an exclusive dull club for a particular type of person.

I’m gonna have to take pass on Google Plus – it just doesn’t do it for me.