Google executive among dead on Everest after quake
Dan Fredinburg, a Google executive who described himself as an adventurer, was among those who died in the massive earthquake that struck Nepal.
Lawrence You, the company’s director of privacy, posted online that Mr Fredinburg was in Nepal with three other Google employees climbing Mount Everest. The other three, he said, were safe.
According to technology blog Re/Code, Mr Fredinburg was an experienced climber who co-founded, in his spare time, Google Adventure. The project aims to “translate the Google Street View concept into extreme, exotic locations like the summit of Mount Everest or the Great Barrier Reef off Australia”, according to Startup Grind, a global community.
Mr Fredinburg also helped start Save the Ice, an organisation dedicated to raising awareness about global warming “through adventurous campaigns and events around the world”, according to its website.
He started at Google in 2007 and served as product manager and the head of privacy at Google X, the company’s secretive arm behind “moonshot” projects such as the self-driving car.
Google said it has launched a “person finder” tool for Nepal to help people find loved ones in the aftermath of the quake and “is working to get updated satellite imagery to aid in the recovery effort.” Google says it is committing one million dollars (£666,000) to the quake response.
One Tree Hill actress Sophia Bush, who has appeared in photos with Mr Fredinburg posted by entertainment outlets, called him “one-of-a-kind” in a post on Instagram.
“A dancing robot who liked to ride dinosaurs and chase the sun and envision a better future for the world. His brain knew how to build it,” she said.
“His heart was constantly evolving to push himself to make it so.”
