Google LLC has recruited one of Intel Corp.’s top executives to help lead its cloud business.

The search giant announced today that Diane Bryant (pictured), a 25-year veteran of the chip maker, is coming aboard as the chief operating officer of Google Cloud. Bryant was perhaps the most prominent female executive at Intel, having most recently led its Data Center Group. The division produces the server chips and other infrastructure products that currently account for nearly half of the company’s operating margin.

Bryant had left her position in May because of what an official announcement described as a “personal family matter.” At the time, Intel stated that she is expected to return in six to eight months. It appears that Google has seized the opportunity and made Bryant a better offer.

The hire is a big win for the search giant. Under her leadership, Intel’s Data Center Group passed $17 billion in revenues and extended its focus to new technologies such as artificial intelligence. The company recently unveiled an experimental processor called the Loihi Neuromorphic Test Chip that is modeled after the human brain.

The management skills that Bryant brings to the table should enable Google to better pursue its cloud ambitions, which encompass AI as well. And her knowledge of the concerns of mainstream information technology executives will be another benefit for Google, which is making a big enterprise push for its cloud. Plus, she has a reputation as a talented speaker who can effectively evangelize new technologies to an enterprise audience.

This is something that could certainly benefit Google in the fiercely competitive cloud segment. Amazon Web Services Inc. and Microsoft Corp., its two biggest competitors, currently both command a much bigger share of the market.

Bryant will be working together with Google Cloud boss Diane Greene, who personally announced the hire on the division’s blog. The company recruited the former VMware Inc. chief executive in late 2015 to help it compete more effectively for enterprise customers.

Image: Robert Hof/SiliconANGLE