Google's Naughty Heir Lusts for New York
Philippe Dauman Jr. can't stop flouting taboos. Friends remember his Park Avenue orgies. Family members note he joined Google when his father's Viacom sued it for $1 billion. Even San Francisco, we hear, is too tepid for him.
Dauman, a friend acknowledges, is partying as hard as ever. Though he's grown sick of the scene in San Francisco, Dauman spends freely to find fun elsewhere, jetting to Vegas some weekends to party with his New Yorker girlfriend at events with a around four females for every male. (This is a new girlfriend; the dominatrix Dauman was said dating is history.)
Dauman's also returned to New York on a near-monthly basis, including for Fashion Week in February, and this summer to his parents' vacation home in East Hampton.
Or so we're told. But Dauman's hedonism doesn't seem to have affected his work. Though his side gig, a music startup, appears defunct, the Columbia JD and MBA got a promotion at Google last month, from "Strategic Partner Development Associate" to "Strategic Partner Development Manager." (See the excerpt from Dauman's LinkedIn profile at left.)
Presumably this means Dauman will have more responsibility around local content acquisition, as his father has described his job. This could help sell his bosses on a New York move; AOL, the New York Times and Huffington Post are all duking out in the city and surrounding markets for local news website dominance.
It certainly wouldn't be Dauman's first time finagling an advantageous transfer. Below, Dauman Sr., well-to-do CEO of Viacom, describes how no less a negotiator than Google chief Eric Schmidt was persuaded to hire Dauman Jr., despite the Viacom suit.