My tech 'a-ha' moment

What was the "a-ha moment" that led you into tech?
Learning to program. I was hooked after I wrote my first screensaver.

What has been your most radical career shift, and how risky was it?
I started off at Google as a software engineer and was really comfortable (and really liked) programming. Shifting toward management meant greater responsibility and influence, but it also meant giving up programming day-to-day in my role, which was hard because it took me out of my comfort zone.

What technological advance are you most excited about?
Search -- as a discipline it's just getting started. Search tools have come a long way already, but there's still a lot of room for improvement and advancement.

NEXT: Hilary Schneider