Google's new CFO and her $70 million pay package

Ruth Porat will become Google's new chief financial officer in May.

Ruth Porat, formerly the CFO of Morgan Stanley, received a $70 million-plus cash and stock deal from Google for making the transition from Wall Street to Silicon Valley.

Porat's salary will actually be less at Google (GOOGL, Tech30): $650,000, compared to the $1 million she made at Morgan Stanley, according to a filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

But she'll get a $5 million cash signing bonus after spending one year at Google and a special $25 million stock grant that she will receive incrementally over the next two years.

But wait, there's more! Starting next year, she'll begin receiving a $40 million stock grant every other year. That grant will vest over the course of four years.

She was paid well at Morgan Stanley (MS), but she'll make quite a bit more at Google.

Porat made an average of a little over $10 million in cash and stock at Morgan Stanley over the course of the past four years. At Google, she'll average about $18 million a year over the same amount of time.

As part of the announcement, Google said that all of its executives will start to get the same biennial stock grants that Porat is getting, rather than cash bonuses. That will tie their pay more closely to the company's stock performance, but it's not clear how that will impact the amount they get paid -- most senior executives had been eligible for cash bonuses of roughly twice their annual salary.

Porat's pay package is substantial, but not unprecedented, for Google. Her predecessor, Patrick Pichette, received $39 million in cash and stock in 2012 and $18 million in 2011. (Porat is being paid the same $650,000 salary that Pichette earned.)

Pichette will stay on at Google "until such time as Google determines that there has been a smooth transition to the new CFO," according to the filing. For his knowledge transfer to Porat, Pichette will get the biennial equity grants he was due to receive through 2018, prorated based on the amount of extra time he stays on at Google.

For Porat, Google's new hire orientation is held every Monday (or Tuesday if Monday is a holiday). Google noted that the number of spaces in each session is limited; so Porat's start date hasn't yet been determined.

Related: After Ruth Porat leaves, who's Wall Street's top woman?

Related: Finally! eBay puts more women on its board

CNNMoney (New York) March 27, 2015: 7:57 AM ET

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For BlackBerry, a surprise profit

BlackBerry's sales plunged 32% to $660 million for the three months that ended in February. That was well below Wall Street's estimates of $786 million and is the lowest level of sales for the company since the middle of 2006.

The company did report a profit of $28 million, or 5 cents a share. Analysts were expecting it to lose money. Profits have been rare in the past few years.

BlackBerry also reported that it its cash balance grew by more than $600 million from a year ago. It now has $3.27 billion in cash, which the company said matches the most it has ever had.

That is great news for BlackBerry since it wasn't that long ago that investors were worried the company was burning through cash too quickly.

Shares of BlackBerry (BBRY, Tech30) were flat in premarket trading but alternated between gains and losses.

It could be a volatile day for the stock as bulls and bears do battle. What matters more for BlackBerry's future? The fact that it is profitable again or that sales remain in freefall?

The stock is down 15% so far this year but enjoyed a more than 40% pop in 2014 as new CEO John Chen implemented a turnaround strategy.

Wall Street approves of Chen's plans to emphasize its core business customers and focus more on software.

Along those lines, BlackBerry also announced licensing deals with two Hong Kong mobile companies Friday morning: the Hong Kong subsidiary of China Mobile (CHL) and 3 Hong Kong, which is owned by Hutchison Telecom (HTHKY).

Still, there are questions about whether or not it's too late to return the company to its former glory.

BlackBerry's market share has been in a steady decline for years as both average consumers and corporate professionals have flocked to Apple's (AAPL, Tech30) iPhone and devices that run on Google's (GOOGL, Tech30) Android operating system. BlackBerry now trails Microsoft's (MSFT, Tech30) Windows Phones as well.

The company is continuing to make new phones, such as the square Passport and the Classic, which features the signature QWERTY keyboard that many CrackBerry devotees still favor over touchscreen smartphones.

It doesn't appear that BlackBerry will ever get out of the hardware game completely. But as long as that business continues to decline, there could be more rumors about BlackBerry needing to find a merger partner.

Earlier this year, speculation about a Samsung (SSNLF) takeover of BlackBerry resurfaced. But both companies denied that there are any talks going on.

Related: This is BlackBerry's new $2,000 smartphone

Related: GalaxyBerry? Samsung-BlackBerry rumor is back

CNNMoney (New York) March 27, 2015: 7:56 AM ET

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Germanwings crash forces change in cockpit rules

Prosecutors believe the co-pilot of the Airbus A320 locked the captain out of the cockpit before deliberately crashing the plane into the French Alps.

The U.S. and Ireland already had rules before Tuesday's crash requiring their airlines to have two crew members to be present at all times during the flight. Many other countries allow airlines to set their own policies.

Canada said it would now force carriers to follow the rule. The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority said it was asking airlines to review their policies but has not yet enforced a change.

Several airlines have tightened up their procedures since the crash, which killed all 150 people on board.

EasyJet (ESYJY), Virgin Atlantic, Emirates and Air Canada (ACDVF) -- among others -- said they would adopt the "rule of two" immediately. British Airways declined to comment.

Norwegian said it was looking into changing its procedures before the Germanwings crash, and would speed up the process so that two people from the flight crew would always be present in the cockpit.

"This means that if one of the pilots leaves the cockpit, one crew member must replace him/her during this time," the airline said.

Related: "Deliberate crash" a huge blow for Lufthansa

Lufthansa (DLAKY), the parent company of Germanwings, has so far not announced a change in policy.

CEO Carsten Spohr told CNN most airlines around the world allow one pilot to leave the cockpit during phases of flight with a "low workload."

"We should not put the whole system at stake just because of this terrible single incident," he said, adding Lufthansa would discuss the issue with regulators and other airlines.

Related: Distraught Germanwings pilots refuse to fly

CNNMoney (London) March 27, 2015: 8:17 AM ET

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An iPhone for people who hate Apple

The curved aluminum edges, the placement of the volume and on/off buttons, the bumped-out rear camera and pretty much everything else about the Galaxy S6 is the same as the iPhone 6 -- right down to the fingerprint-sensor home button. If imitation is the highest form of flattery, Apple's design team should be blushing right now.

Samsung's oft-criticized design got a nearly complete reboot for the Galaxy S6. The new Galaxy is a beautiful phone that feels great in your hand. It is made of high-end Gorilla glass (no more plastic!) and metal (no more plastic painted to look like metal!). Gone are Galaxy trademarks, such as additional storage, a removable battery and waterproofing, but those are compromises worth making.

Though it's undeniably better than previous Galaxy S phones, there's nothing terribly original about the S6's design either. All smartphones kind of look like one another these days, but it's as if Samsung's team purposefully designed the Galaxy S6 to be an iPhone for people who hate Apple (AAPL, Tech30).

That's because when you turn on the Galaxy S6, you discover that the similarities to the iPhone are almost purely superficial. Inside, the new smartphone is pure Samsung. That means crazy features upon wacky tools upon whiz-bang tricks -- some of which are unbelievably stunning, and others that just get in the way.

Related: Samsung live-streamed a virtual reality birth

Speed. The Galaxy S6 is noticeably fast, which is remarkable during an era when even the cheapest of cheap smartphones feels like a racehorse. There are no hiccups or jitters when you swipe through screens and open up apps.

While most phones feel like they pause to think for a split second every so often before executing your commands, the Galaxy S6 is so fast that feels like it's anticipating your taps and swipes before you make them. It's like an extension of your fingers.

Display. The screen is also jaw-dropping. It's bright, the colors are brilliant, the viewing angles are tremendous. It feels like a 4K ultra-high-definition TV in your hands -- because it kind of is. Its resolution is four-times more pixel-dense than standard HD displays.

Camera. The cameras are awesome. The Galaxy S6's 16-megapixel rear camera is among the best on any smartphone, and the 5-megapixel front camera might be the best selfie camera on the market.

The camera's shutter speed is super-fast, which means you can take rapid-fire photos without any noticeable lag. Also increasing the speed of phototaking on the Galaxy S6 is a new feature that lets you double-click the home button to launch the camera in a pinch -- even when the phone is locked or the screen is turned off. When taking a selfie, you can tap a sensor on the back of the camera, which lets you hold the camera in a more stable position.

The phone's thinness means the camera bumps out a bit -- more noticeably than on the iPhone 6. But unlike the iPhone's off-to-the-side camera, which causes Apple's smartphone to shake a bit when it's resting on the table, Samsung positioned its camera in the center, giving it a bit more stability when lying on its back.

Other features. The fingerprint reader is super fast and only requires a touch to unlock your phone (you used to have to swipe your finger).

The turbo charger is exceedingly fast -- plugging your Galaxy S6 in for 10 minutes gives you four hours of battery life.

You'll also get a minimum of 32 GB of storage on the Galaxy S6, which is double that of most smartphones. And you'll get wireless charging and an IR blaster, for those of who hate plugging in their phone and like using it as a universal remote.

Software. Being "pure Samsung" is not always a good thing.

Samsung's notoriously horrible software got an upgrade for the Galaxy S6 -- namely that there's less of it. Samsung claims that it cut down on its add-on software by 40% for the Galaxy S6, and the phone does let Google's excellent Android Lollipop software shine a bit more than previous Galaxies.

Yet the Galaxy S6's "TouchWiz" interface is still a mess of confusing, unnecessary features and app add-ons. The cartoonish icons and menus from Galaxies past remain, and they still look like they were designed in the flip-phone era. And there's still the un-eraseable bloatware, including Samsung's Milk music apps and and handful of Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) apps.

Should you buy it? If you're not an iPhone person but want the quality and attention to detail that Apple gives its smartphones, then the Galaxy S6 is worth consideration. Its ridiculous add-on software really gets in the way at times, which is a shame because Samsung doesn't need crazy software features for its phone to stand out in a crowd.

The stunning display, lighting-fast speed, tremendous camera and top-of-the-line fingerprint reader make the Galaxy S6 one of the best smartphones on the market. Looking like the beautiful iPhone 6 is a nice touch as well.

The Galaxy S6 costs $650 ($200 on contract), and will go on sale April 10.

Related: Google is becoming a wireless carrier

Related: Apple's iPad sales keep falling

CNNMoney (New York) March 26, 2015: 9:57 AM ET

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Charney probe cost American Apparel $10 million

American Apparel spent more than $10 million on an investigation on a probe before firing founder Dov Chaney as CEO.

That's a lot of money for a company that reported a $27.6 million loss and ended 2014 with only $8.3 million in cash.

Charney was the company's founder and largest shareholder before he was removed as CEO in June. However he remained with the company as a consultant as he tried to engineer his return. The always controversial Charney faced a series of sexual harassment suits filed by employees in recent years, and reportedly conducted some interviews and company meetings in his underwear. American Apparel's co-chairman referred to evidence of "disturbing misconduct" when asked why the board removed Charney.

Related: How Dov Charney got fired from American Apparel - twice

The company announced Charney had been fired for cause in December, citing "misconduct and violations of company policy." His lawyer issued a letter calling the investigation into his behavior "a complete sham" and said the board denied him any reasonable opportunity to respond to the charges.

Charney continues to fight to return to the company, but he could face more legal problems. The company's filing said it has turned over the results of its internal investigation to the Securities and Exchange Commission and that the SEC notified it on Feb. 5 that it has issued a formal order to investigate Charney's actions.

Related: American Apparel hires investment bank to weigh 'strategic options'

CNNMoney (New York) March 26, 2015: 8:32 AM ET

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Walgreens cashiers no longer have to say: 'Be well'

Walgreens cashiers are no longer required to tell customers to "be well."

Walgreens spokesman Michale Polzin confirmed to CNNMoney that the "be well" campaign had run its course.

"We felt that it had accomplished its goal of enhancing our branding and it was time to evolve that," he said.

The "be well" greeting will be replaced by a new set of guidelines for greeting customers, but the company hasn't decided on anything concrete, he said.

Walgreens (WBA) operates about 8,000 pharmacy stores nationwide.

Related: Your new credit card will be an epic fail

Related: RadioShack trying to sell data of 100 million customers

CNNMoney (New York) March 26, 2015: 9:32 AM ET

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Meet the sisters who shattered the CEO glass ceiling

Growing up in the 1960s, their dad believed someday the world would open up for women -- and he wanted them to be ready for that.

Boy were they ready.

After climbing the corporate ladder at Procter & Gamble (PG), Denise Morrison became CEO of Campbell Soup in August 2011. By that point her younger sister Maggie Wilderotter was already a pro at running a big business. She was hired as CEO of Frontier Communications (FTR) back in 2006.

That means that while there are only 24 women running S&P 500 companies, two of them come from the same Long Branch, N.J. family.

Clearly, their parents played a huge role in their success.

"They taught us we can be anything we want to be and encouraged us to dream big," Morrison told CNNMoney.

See for yourself: How many women are in the C-suite?

Campbell Soup CEO Denise Morrison (left) and her sister Maggie Wilderotter are two of the only 24 women currently leading S&P 500 companies.

Learning how to lead: Their father, who worked as an executive at Bell Systems and AT&T (T, Tech30), took them to the office before it was fashionable to bring your daughter to work. He also brought them to the library each Saturday and assigned them book reports.

Their mother was a stay-at-home mom who later worked in real estate.

"My mother taught us that ambition is part of femininity and really taught us to have substance but also style," said Morrison, who is 13 months older than her sister Maggie.

They took different paths to the C-Suite and work in vastly different industries, but today the two gals from Jersey run companies generating a combined $13 billion in revenue and employing 37,000 people.

"While my sister decided when she was born she wanted to be a CEO, that was never in my DNA," Wilderotter told CNNMoney.

Related: Think there aren't enough female CEOs? The pipeline isn't much better

Shopping discount: Wilderotter jumped into the world of finance right out of college, serving in human resources in a field that had very few women back in the 1970s. She eventually switched over to sales in the tech world. By 28, she landed on the first of many boards of directors and had experience as a regional manager.

Running a money-making division for the company was huge and helped Wilderotter build a track record of her own. It's something both sisters recommend for women eager to climb today's corporate ladder.

"A lot of women who stay in staff positions never get that opportunity to run things from an end-to-end perspective," Wilderotter said.

Wilderotter has helped transform Frontier into a regional telecom player by negotiating mega deals worth billions of dollars -- often with her male counterparts. Earlier this year she purchased $10.5 billion of landline and broadband properties from Verizon (VZ, Tech30) in a transaction that will double the size of Frontier.

"When I buy properties, it's designer discount: Great properties at a good price," Wilderotter said.

Related: What's next for AT&T? Apple pushed it out of the Dow

Work-life balance is a myth: Morrison started her career in sales with Procter & Gamble (PG) and moved through the giant company in a fashion that allowed her to garner different experiences. She ran brands, worked in a plant to get a feel for the supply chain and wasn't shy about raising her hand for extra assignments.

The secret to the success of both sisters may be their willingness to dispel the myth that women must strive for a perfect work-life balance.

"We live in a world where we're working all the time. You're never going to achieve balance," Wilderotter told CNNMoney. "You have to be honest about that, not just with yourself but with the people you love."

Morrison, who has two children, believes it's better to think of it as an integration of the priorities in your home life with the priorities in your career.

"Work-life balance implies perfect equilibrium. We all know that doesn't exist and may in some cases present a false expectation," she said.

Nearly three decades ago, Wilderotter and her husband decided he would take the lead in raising their two children while she focused on advancing her career. This allowed him to open his own winery and vineyard.

"My husband has a very strong sense of self-confidence. I am very blessed," Wilderotter said.

Related: Germany's new 30% rule for women on boards

Finding tomorrow's leaders: Both sisters believe companies need to do more to attract and retain talented women who can one day be considered for the top job.

But Morrison said the onus is also on women to build relationships, find sponsors who will fight for them and create the track records that can pave the way to the C-Suite.

"Women need to think about where they've been, where they are, where they're going and how they're going to get there," Morrison said.

After next month, there will only be 23 female CEOs in the S&P 500 because Wilderotter is passing the baton to her lieutenant, Dan McCarthy.

She admits the transition to executive chairwoman is "bittersweet," but Wilderotter can sleep well knowing she's built a pipeline of female leaders at Frontier that most boards can only dream of. More than half of its executives are women.

"While we're climbing the ladder with one hand, we need to have another hand to pull women along from behind. I do that every day," Wilderotter said.

Related: Facebook gets sued for gender discrimination

Related: Wall Street's most powerful woman jumps to Google

CNNMoney (New York) March 26, 2015: 6:03 AM ET

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This startup could help thwart school bombings

That's what startup PredictifyMe is banking on.

Last week, the analytics company partnered with the United Nations in an initiative to protect schools in Pakistan, Nigeria and Lebanon against bombing attacks.

"Parents in these countries are afraid to send their children to school," said Rob Burns, PredictifyMe CEO and co-founder. "We're sitting here with technology that's easy to deploy and can help predict an attack and secure schools against it."

Terror attacks on schools are at the highest level in 40 years, with more than 10,000 attacks in the last five years, according to the UN.

PredictifyMe's technology not only predicts when a bombing will occur, it can also help schools prepare for an attack.

It's a two-step process, driven by the startup's software "Soothsayer" and "SecureSim."

Soothsayer's algorithm analyzes 200 indicators to predict the likelihood of a suicide bombing attack, said Dr. Zeeshan-ul-Hassan Usmani, co-founder and chief data scientist.

This includes weather, day of the week, sporting events, major holidays, attacks in nearby countries, visits by international dignitaries and the emergence of a blasphemous video on YouTube or Facebook (FB, Tech30).

Usmani said the software is able to predict an attack within three days with 72% accuracy.

SecureSim models and simulates explosions, taking into account physical and environmental properties and the type of explosives and shrapnel.

It assesses a facility's vulnerability (in this case a school) to an explosion and determines the level of impact and injuries. It can also suggest preemptive safety measures. For instance, Usmani said the software showed that having a school's main entrance 20 feet from the classrooms can reduce the casualty count by one-third.

Related: 5 startups that are reimagining the world

Burns and Usmani met in the U.S. in 2012 when both were selected for the Eisenhower Fellowship, which picks outstanding mid-career executives for a seven-week program.

"We were both working on addressing social issues in our cultures," said Burns, who was studying at-risk youth in the United States. Usmani was focused on bombings in Pakistan and whether technology could save lives and minimize injuries.

After the program, Usmani returned to Pakistan and launched GoFig Solutions, which worked to predict bombings in Pakistan.

The two men stayed in touch and in 2014 launched Raleigh-based PredictifyMe (acquring Go-Fig and its technology). Their new company would not only focus on predictive security but on software with wider commercial applications.

Retailers can use Hourglass to predict consumer buying patterns or the impact of a marketing campaign. Insurers can analyze existing data and anticipate when drug shortages will occur or predict instances of fraudulent underwriting activity, said Burns.

Related: American Underground wants to be the most diverse startup hub

For now, PredictyMe's security technology is only being used overseas. But could it one day be used to predict school shootings in the U.S.?

"We would need to adapt the software to look at non-explosion events [like shootings] but are currently looking at that augmentation," said Burns. "That would be a longer-term plan."

In Pakistan, the startup is donating its software to 1,000 schools in the initial pilot.

"That's phase one," said Burns. "For phase two, we want to target 200,000 schools in Pakistan. After that, we want to help protect schools in other countries."

CNNMoney (New York) March 26, 2015: 8:02 AM ET

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Stocks: 4 things to know before the open

Stock markets are falling, oil prices are surging and Saudi Arabia is launching airstrikes in neighboring Yemen.

Here are the four things you need to know before the opening bell rings in New York:

1. Saudi Arabia acts, markets react: The world's biggest and most powerful oil producing nation -- Saudi Arabia -- has launched airstrikes in neighboring Yemen, where rebels have intensified a violent campaign against the government. Saudi Arabia says it has the support of nine mostly Arab countries.

Traders reacted by swiftly bidding up the price of crude oil futures by about 5%. A barrel is now trading for roughly $51.50.

U.S. stock futures are continuing their drop from Wednesday. Each major U.S. index is down by about 1% premarket.

European markets are all declining by about 1% to 2% in early trading.

Most Asian markets closed with losses.

Related: Fear & Greed Index

2. Stock market movers -- Airlines, SanDisk, Schlumberger: Shares in Delta (DAL) and American Airlines (AAL) are both declining premarket by about 4%. Lufthansa (DLAKY) shares continued to decline in the wake of Tuesday's Germanwings crash in the French Alps.

Shares in SanDisk (SNDK) are taking a major hit -- down by about 14% premarket -- after the technology company warned it will bring in lower-than-expected revenue in the first quarter.

Shares in oil field services firm Schlumberger (SLB) are rising by about 1% premarket. This comes after the U.S. Department of Justice said a Schlumberger subsidiary has been fined $233 million for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and Sudan.

Related: CNNMoney's Tech30

3. Earnings and economics: Apparel retailer Lululemon (LULU) and consulting firm Accenture (ACN) are reporting quarterly results ahead of the open.

Gamestop (GME) will report after the close.

The U.S. government will post data on jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET.

4. Wednesday market recap: Markets took a tumble Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 292 points, while the S&P 500 fell 1.5% and the Nasdaq plunged 2.4%, its biggest drop in nearly a year.

Related: Have an investing question? Ask CNNMoney!

CNNMoney (London) March 26, 2015: 7:38 AM ET

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Think there's a startup bubble? Bet $100K on it.

Y Combinator president Sam Altman

As early-stage startups capture millions within months of launching and receive sky-high valuations despite little to no revenue, those in tech have been sounding warning bells.

But Sam Altman, president of elite Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator, says he doesn't subscribe to this belief.

In a blog post, Altman acknowledges that yes, there have been some unreasonable early-stage valuations, but those are insignificant compared to the larger market.

"It's a small amount of capital and still nothing I would call a 'bubble,'" he wrote. He admits that he's "pretty paranoid" about bubbles -- yet he feels very hopeful about the future of tech.

And he's willing to bet on it.

He makes three bets on the future of tech five years from now.

• He selects 6 "unicorns" (companies valued at over $1 billion): Uber, Palantir, Airbnb, Dropbox, Pinterest, and SpaceX. He predicts that they'll be worth over $200 billion by January 1, 2020. That's double what they're worth today, according to Altman.
• He names nine mid-level Y Combinator startups -- including payments startup Stripe and bitcoin exchange firm Coinbase -- that will be worth a combined $27 billion (up from less than $9 billion currently).
• He says Y Combinator's current batch of 114 startups ("currently worth something that rounds down to $0") will be worth $3 billion by 2020.

He encourages a venture capitalist to take the other side of his bet. The wager? A $100,000 donation to charity.

Related: 9 reason to be hopeful about the future of tech

Related: What bubble? Many social media stocks are big losers

CNNMoney (New York) March 25, 2015: 10:28 AM ET

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