Key man insurance [sic] is what companies buy when the death of a particular individual would have a severe impact on a company's business operations.
I report up to Urs Hölzle, not Alan Eustace, but I have to admit that when I saw the news that Alan had made a parachute jump from 136,000 feet, my first thought was to wonder what happens to a company's key man insurance when an executive does something like that. (This is undoubtedly because I spent the first six years of my work life in the insurance business.)
Because I am a ghoul, my second thought was to be grateful that he was on the front page of the Times because he'd survived, rather than on the obits page because he hadn't.
Good for him, it seems from the article you linked to that he basically did it "off hours", with his own money.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad used to go skydiving when we lived in Hawaii but that ended when he broke his arm one time and my Mom gave him an ultimatium: Skydiving or her. He picked his family, but still talks about how cool skydiving is.
That's correct - on his own time and his own checkbook. He joined Google in 2002, so that checkbook can presumably accommodate a project like this one.
ReplyDeleteHe's a pretty cool guy; I have a lot of respect for him.