Yahoo can’t be happy right now – Google just stole its chief technology officer in India. As part of the deal, Prasad Bharat Ram has been given control of Google’s research and development arm in Bangalore.

Only last week, we reported on Google’s (self-proclaimed) difficulties in finding experienced people to staff its South Asian operations. The company’s latest hire seems eminently qualified. “Prasad Ram brings to Google a wealth of experience in technology development and organisation building, as well as a deep knowledge of the local Indian market,” said Alan Eustace, vice president of engineering at Google, to Rustomjee.

Ram’s departure from Yahoo may not have been too unpleasant, even though Google and Yahoo are more or less sworn enemies. The research and development CEO of Yahoo India, Venkat Panchapakesan, remained civil, saying, “Prasad Ram has decided to move due to personal reasons. We value his contribution towards our organisation and wish him success.”

And yet, despite these polite words, Yahoo is undoubtedly smarting. The company “is betting on increased performance in the Asia Pacific region to bolster the company’s finances,” according to Steve Bryant, and “while Ram is only one employee in a very broad region, his hiring could be seen as a setback for Yahoo.”

Bryant noted that Ram’s “high-profile recruitment comes less than two weeks after Google nabbed AOL’s top AIM developer.” The Rustomjee article brought up an older incident in which Microsoft was the “victim.” It almost seems as if employee-poaching is becoming the norm at Google, which is sure to raise a few eyebrows in relation to the company’s old “do no evil” motto.

Tag:

Add to Del.icio.us | Digg | Yahoo! My Web | Furl

Bookmark Murdok:

Doug is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest eBusiness news.