Google SA head explains his resignation

Google South Africa country manager Stafford Masie resigned recently. Here is why.

Stafford Masie recently resigned as the country manager of Google South Africa, sparking speculation about conflict with local online agencies and Masie’s own frustration with the US corporate set-up.

Masie however says that his decision was purely to ‘re-focus on my marriage and family which critically suffered due to many reasons’.

In his personal blog Masie wrote “How could I possibly resign from a company as awesome as Google and what will I be doing next?”  This is what Masie said:

Establishing the Google presence in South Africa and being a part of the local Google story was an immense privilege and honour. It is truly the best company and place to work on the planet! Saying I will miss the people and place is simply an immense understatement.

I am proud to say that the Google office is now well established with all the necessary capacity and partnerships to strategically execute within their ecosystem. Google remains extremely and genuinely committed to South Africa and are actively seeking to appoint a new country manager. They are geared to grow from strength to strength and we South Africans will benefit significantly by this focus on our geography.

I resigned from Google to re-focus on my marriage and family which critically suffered due to many reasons, but predominantly work commitments and my failure to maintain a balance. My decision is completely and solely due to this personal situation which degraded to an extent where I just had to prioritize it above all else.

Nothing other than my love for my wife and children prompted this decision and I am blessed enough to have the ability to take this time out (the first since I returned from the USA in '03) after enjoying much success in my professional life. Since the announcement of my resignation, I have been humbly inundated with offers from various organizations spanning numerous disciplines.

But, it is time for me to temporarily step away and repair this very personal matter. I will be offline for at least the next two to four months and then I will deliberate on these and other options.

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