New Google CFO Ruth Porat Will Get A Massive Raise For Leaving Morgan Stanley

Former Morgan Stanley chief financial officer Ruth Porat is poised to make far more money heading the finances of Silicon Valley powerhouse Google than she ever would have on Wall Street. While Wall Street investment banks are closely scrutinized by shareholders on bonus packages and stock awards, Silicon Valley has far greater leeway to lure talent with stock-loaded compensation.

According to a Wednesday filing from Google, Porat will be paid a total of $30,650,000 in 2015, spread out between a base salary of $650,000.00, a one-time $5 million signing bonus, and a $25 million new hire restricted stock grant, which will begin vesting in December. The following year, Porat will make her base salary and a $40 million "biennial grant," which will vest on a pro-rata basis between 2016 and 2019.

Porat's Google pay package may give a contrary insight into an apparent brain drain from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. While many attribute the exodus to Wall Street's image problems and a lack of opportunity in the years since the global financial crisis, pay appears to be an under-appreciated factor. In recent years, Porat's made between $8 million and $11.7 million at Morgan Stanley for her her services, a figure that pales in comparison to the $30-to-$40 million she stands to make in her first years at Google.

The same holds true for Anthony Noto, a former top Goldman Sachs banker who left Wall Street to take Twitter's CFO job in July. Noto's pay package stipulated a modest $250,000 salary, but it also offered 1.5 million restricted stock units currently worth roughly $75 million, in addition to the ability to make a one-time stock option purchase.

Nonetheless, both Porat and Noto are natural fits for Silicon Valley and it wouldn't be surprising if the CFO ranks at top tech companies become increasingly staffed by Wall Street veterans. As the tech sector rises in profitability and takes an even greater prominence on public markets there's an increasing need for firms to communicate and act like S&P 500 sized companies.

Apple CEO Tim Cook spent a handful of quarters battling vocal investors  on stock buybacks and dividends, only to then implement the biggest capital return in corporate history. But, those kinds of capital allocation and investor relation skills are readily available on Wall Street.

Within weeks of joining Twitter, Noto was able to bring better communication to investors, including new metrics to quantify the social network's growth and a set of ambitious financial targets. Porat's long resume in the technology sector, combined with her experience in Morgan Stanley's multi-year push to improve its shareholder returns may be big sell for Google. Currently, the search giant is sitting on a near $50 billion cash hoard, and it's still trying to communicate how a sweeping set of projects that include fiber infrastructure, connected home technologies, automotive navigation and new consumer products will provide a return for investors.

About her hiring by Google on Tuesday, Porat said, “I’m delighted to be returning to my California roots and joining Google. Growing up in Silicon Valley, during my time at Morgan Stanley and as a member of Stanford’s Board, I’ve had the opportunity to experience first hand how tech companies can help people in their daily lives. I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and get started.”