Google adds virtualization queen Diane Greene to its board

Google has appointed Diane Greene, a co-founder and former CEO of VMware, to its board of directors and audit committee.

Greene was let go by VMware in 2008, though hasn't been entirely quiet since. Among other things she is among the financial backers of network virtualization vendor Nicira, which was one of our 2010 "Companies to Watch."

Google can use Greene's knowledge of virtualization given the company's efforts in cloud computing. What's more, Google has partnered with companies such as VMware and Citrix to enable virtualized apps to run on Chromebooks.

"Diane is a special person who combines a sharp business acumen with a brilliant technical mind," said Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google. "We know she will be a great contributor and we are grateful to have her insight."

The 56-year-old Greene joins Schmidt and Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, as well as tech heavy hitters such as VC John Doerr and Intel chief Paul Otellini on the board. Greene's background, in addition to her 10 years as head of VMware, includes technical leadership positions at companies such as Silicon Graphics, Tandem Computers and Sybase.

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