Google Ventures founder Bill Maris blasts outgoing chief legal officer David Drummond as 'the laziest man in America' (GOOG, GOOGL)

Bill Maris, president and chief executive officer of Google Ventures, speaks about the future during the Wall Street Journal Digital Live (WSJDLive) conference

Google Ventures founder Bill Maris said David Drummond, Alphabet's outgoing chief legal officer, is the reason he left the company.
"What people called him inside of Google was 'the laziest man in America,'" Maris told Business Insider.
"I simply could not work with him any longer," he added in a statement, as first reported by Axios.
Drummond is leaving Alphabet following a series of scandals involving allegations of sexual misconduct, the company announced today.
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Google Ventures founder Bill Maris isn't holding anything back when it comes to his thoughts about his former colleague David Drummond.

On Friday, Google-parent company Alphabet announced that Drummond — Alphabet's longtime Chief Legal Officer, who has been accused of having multiple relationships with subordinates — was leaving the company.

The news elicited a string of fiery remarks from Maris, in a remarkable breach of the typical reticence observed among executives — at least, publicly — during corporate shake ups.

"What people called him inside of Google was 'the laziest man in America,'" Maris told Business Insider in regards to Drummond, without elaborating.

That was after telling Axios that Drummond was the reason Maris had left Google several years ago. "I simply could not work with him any longer," Maris said. "We have very, very different ideas about how to treat people, and this was a long time coming," he told Axios.

Drummond was one of the most powerful executives at Alphabet, having joined in 2002 when the company was still a privately held search engine by the name of Google.

Alphabet announced Friday that Drummond will retire at the end of January following allegations that he had relationships with subordinates at the company and the reported launch of a board investigation into Alphabet's handling of sexual-misconduct claims.

Maris, who is now a founding partner at the VC firm Section 32, started Google's in-house venture capital group, initially known as Google Ventures. The group was overseen by Drummond, among his various duties.

Maris' harsh words represent a notable change of tone from when he left GV in 2016. At the time, Maris told Recode he was leaving "because everything is great."

"It's mission accomplished for me," Maris said in a Q&A with the publication.

On Friday, Maris turned to "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith" to refer to the news of Drummond's departure, in his statement to Axios.

"At an end, your rule is. And not short enough, it was," Maris said, taking a line used by Master Yoda as he confronted Darth Sidious, the arch-villain of the movie.

Alphabet did not respond to requests for comment about Maris' statements.

Maris' full statement to Axios is below:

"The news of David Drummond leaving Google today brings to mind a quote from one of my most favorite creatures. 'At an end, your rule is. And not short enough, it was.' I had been asked in the past why I left Google in 2016, and I have never really commented on that. David Drummond is the reason I left Google. I simply could not work with him any longer. It's that simple. We have very, very different ideas about how to treat people, and this was a long time coming."

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