Brett Perlmutter
Brett Perlmutter (born September 9, 1986) is an American businessman. As the Head of Google Cuba he negotiated the first Internet agreement between a US company and Cuba.[1]
Early life[edit]
Brett Andrew Perlmutter was born on September 9, 1986 in Denver, Colorado. His paternal grandfather is American real estate developer Jordon Perlmutter.[2], and his cousin is US congressman Ed Perlmutter.[3] Raised in Colorado, he once thought he would become a ski bum,[4][5] and while growing up, he often visited his maternal grandfather who lives in an adobe house in Las Cruces, New Mexico.[6]
Education[edit]
Perlmutter attended high school at the Kent Denver School in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado. During his time in high school he was the president of the Kent Denver Credit Union, the largest high school student-run credit union in the United States.[7][8] While running the credit union, Perlmutter attracted the attention of personal finance guru Suze Orman, who visited the school and credit union, and he ultimately helped her edit the draft manuscript of The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke.[9]
Perlmutter attended college at the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained a B.A. magnum cum laude, was the president of his class,[10][4] and was a Benjamin Franklin Scholar.[11] Along with Penn Alumni Relations, Perlmutter created an event called the Final Toast, an event for outgoing seniors to compliment Hey Day.[4]
At Penn, Perlmutter was named the Spoon man, the top honor given to a male student upon graduation.[12]
Perlmutter obtained an M.Phil from the University of Cambridge where he was a member of King's College.[13]
Career[edit]
Perlmutter started his career as a consultant in McKinsey & Company's New York Office.[14]
Google Cuba[edit]
Perlmutter originally spearheaded Google's market entry into the country, after visiting Cuba with Eric Schmidt in June of 2014, prior to the US amending its policy towards Cuba on December 17, 2014.[15] After the visit, Schmidt penned a Google+ blog post confirming his presence and criticizing the US embargo on Cuba,[15] and Perlmutter led the initial effort to offer Google technology to the Cuban people, including the launch of Google Chrome, Google Play for Free Apps, Google Analytics, and Google Toolbar.[16][14][4][6]
Perlmutter returned to Cuba in June of 2015 with the Americas Society / Council of the Americas with the purpose of "helping the Cuban government think through their publicly-stated goal of improving Internet access," according to a Google spokesperson at the time..[16] During this visit, Perlmutter an other members of the delegation met with Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ETECSA, and local entrepreneurs[16]
With Schmidt, and Susanna Kohly, he went on to co-found Google Cuba..[17] President Obama announced Perlmutter's first connectivity initiative in Cuba during his visit in March 2016:[18][6] An internet center called Google+kcho.MOR[19] Havana's Museo Orgánico Romerillo, which is run by Cuban artist Kcho.[20] It became the only location to offer free, high speed wifi to the Cuban people. Upon the center's opening Perlmutter said, "We want to show the world what happens when you combine Cuban creative energy with technology that's first in class".[21] Upon the launch people were "practically kissing and hugging" Perlmutter[1]
Perlmutter was the principal negotiator of the first ever Internet deal between the U.S. and Cuba;[6] he accompanied Schmidt to Havana to sign the agreement in December of 2016.[22] The agreement placed a Google Global Cache in Havana to make platforms like YouTube available for the Cuban public.[22] The servers were spun up in April of 2017.[23] To demonstrate that the servers worked, he celebrated by singing with Google Cuba co-founder along to the YouTube video of the song Despacito while connected to a wifi hotspot in park in Havana.[24]
In June 2018, he accompanied Schmidt and Senator Jeff Flake, to Havana, comprising the first US delegation received by Miguel Díaz-Canel after he took the position as head of state.[citation needed] Later, Schmidt and Perlmutter hosted the Cuban head of state and UN delegation at the Google Office in New York City.[25] By October 2018, Google signed four memoranda of understanding with Cuban entities: the Havana City Historian's Office, the University of Computer Sciences (UCI), Infomed, and the Cuban Ministry of Culture[26]
On March 28, 2019, Perlmutter signed a memorandum of understanding with ETECSA to peer Google's network with that of ETECSA.[27][28] Although the deal did not have an immediate effect on connectivity, the result of peering would speed up Cuban users' access to Google products and services[27]
Awards and honors[edit]
- In 2016 Perlmutter was a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree[29]
- In 2017 Perlmutter won the Kent Denver School Distinguished Alumni Award[8]
- In 2021 Perlmutter interviewed Sir Richard Branson and Cuban entrepreneur Rancel Ruana on the 90 Miles Podcast[30]
- In 2021 Perlmutter bid on and won the first NFT minted in Cuba, a piece called "Hotel Habana 3/10" by Cuban photographer Gabriel Guerra Bianchini[31]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Googling Cuba". The Pennsylvania Gazette. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ↑ "Obituary of Jordon Harvey Perlmutter | Feldman Mortuary". feldmanmortuary.com. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ Sahling, Corrie. "Longtime businessman Jordan Perlmutter helped develop Northglenn area". Colorado Community Media. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Brett Perlmutter, C'09". www.alumni.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ Observador, El. "El hombre de Google en Cuba". El Observador. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Googling Cuba". The Pennsylvania Gazette. 2016-08-25. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ "43 debs, 39 young men feted at event". The Denver Post. 2005-06-21. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Distinguished Alumni - Kent Denver School". www.kentdenver.org. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ "Googling Cuba". The Pennsylvania Gazette. 2016-08-25. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
- ↑ "Meet The Class Presidents". www.alumni.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
- ↑ "Change in Cuba: Lessons learned through Technology and Diplomacy". Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
- ↑ Riegel, Jessica. "'Spoon' stirs nearly 150-year-old history of honors". www.thedp.com. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ "Brett Perlmutter". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Brett Perlmutter". AS/COA. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Google Boss Eric Schmidt Leads a Visit to Cuba". Time. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Scola, Nancy. "Google testing the waters in Cuba". POLITICO. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ "Googler Susanna Kohly on "building digital bridges" in Cuba, her family's homeland". Google. 2017-09-15. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ Lee, Brody Mullins and Carol E. (2016-03-23). "Google and Obama Administration Connect Over Cuba". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ "Google helps offer vastly faster Internet in Cuba". AP NEWS.
- ↑ Weissenstein, Michael (March 21, 2016). "Google helps offer vastly faster Internet in Cuba". Associated Press.
- ↑ "Google helps offer vastly faster Internet in Cuba". The Seattle Times. 2016-03-21. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Forero, Jack Nicas and Juan (2016-12-16). "Google Signs Deal With Cuba to Speed Services". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ Wamsley, Laurel (2017-04-27). "Google Spins Up Its First Servers In Cuba". NPR. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ "Los videos de YouTube ya se pueden ver en Cuba a alta velocidad". CiberCuba (in español). 2017-07-24. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ "Cuba's new leader meets with American business executives and politicians in NYC". Miami Herald. September 25, 2018.
- ↑ "Google Signs Memoranda of Understanding With Four Cuban Organizations". circleid.com. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 "Cuba, Google move to improve island's connectivity". AP NEWS. 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ "Google, Cuba agree to work toward improving island's connectivity". Reuters. 2019-03-28. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ "Brett Perlmutter". Forbes.
- ↑ "The 90 Miles Podcast | Virgin". Virgin.com. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ Rodríguez, Andrea. "Cuba subasta fotografía en formato NFT". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
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