Wael Ghonim, the Google marketing executive who became a public figurehead of the pro-democracy movement in Egyptian in 2011, has joined the company’s corporate venturing unit, Google Ventures, as an entrepreneur-in-residence, Fortune reported.
After working at Middle Eastern e-mail service Gawab, Ghonim took up a post as a regional marketing manager at Google Middle East and North Africa, before being promoted to its head of marketing in 2010. He was incarcerated in Egypt for 11 days in early 2011 due to his promotion and organisation of anti-government protests.
Ghonim began working at Google Ventures towards the end of 2013 but his activities at the unit have been kept relatively secret while visa issues were finalised.
Google Ventures managing partner Bill Maris told Fortune that Ghonim approached him after the Egyptian revolution to discuss entrepreneurship and venture capital issues, which led to Maris hiring him after a series of video conference calls.
“He isn’t a seasoned entrepreneur, so spending time with us and learning from the companies we have invested in and from the team itself is a great way for him to get a head start,” Maris said. “If he started on his own he would be in a much worse place.”
Entrepreneurs-in-residence can select startup companies for investment or coaching, improve internal systems or build their own businesses. Although Ghonim is working on a project, as yet undisclosed, Google has not invested in it so far.
Google Ventures is also adding two more entrepreneurs-in-residence: Anish Acharya, a former investment partner at Google Ventures and co-founder of social gaming company SocialDeck, and Chikai Ohazama, a co-founder of geospatial data company Keyhole, which Google acquired in 2004.