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What's Ailing Google Chief?

Google Inc. GOOG +1.11% says Chief Executive Larry Page has " his voice," but it won't say more about the matter. Some corporate governance experts think the Internet company should speak .

The billionaire co-founder missed Google's annual meeting Thursday, and the company said he will miss two other important engagements the next several weeks.

Google no further information about Mr. Page's problems, it said he continues lead the company. The lack of details surrounding the matter prompted some speculation Wall Street about whether he may have serious medical condition.

an email to employees on Thursday, , Mr. Page wrote that "there is nothing seriously wrong me" and that he would "continue to the company," according to a person familiar the matter.

The 39-year-old Mr. Page took as chief executive last year, his second stint running Google its 14-year history. He was absent the shareholder meeting at the company's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters.

the meeting, Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said Mr. Page had "lost his voice" and "can't any public speaking engagements for the time ," including the coming week's Google annual conference software developers and at the second-quarter earnings conference call is expected in mid-July. He added that "Larry will continue to the company, he's running all the strategic business decisions and all that."

Mr. Schmidt, wished Mr. Page a "quick recovery," also joked that co-founder Sergey Brin "has said this problem will make Larry a better CEO because he's going to have to choose his words very carefully."

Few watchers of the Internet giant seemed a joking mood, however. That is especially true in Silicon Valley, the death of Apple Inc. AAPL +0.77% co-founder Steve Jobs is still fresh in people's .

Apple's disclosures the health of Mr. Jobs, who died in October after a battle pancreatic cancer, were criticized times for providing few details about his condition.

"We have specific reason to think there is anything to Larry's condition, but we find it odd that the company would already rule him of the 2Q call which is likely still a few weeks ," wrote JP Morgan stock analyst Doug Anmuth in a note clients.

He added, "We think this could some questions among investors."

Mr. Anmuth also noted Mr. Page, who regularly posts links and comments his Google+ social network account, hasn't posted anything publicly May 25.

Inside Google, some executives told Mr. Page's issue isn't serious and that he's "OK," according to a person familiar the matter.

Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Herman Leung says he's started to get calls investors, asking if they should be worried about this. "Yeah, probably a bit," he said. "Hopefully, Google will give us update."

Mr. Page's voice generally sounds slightly strained, raspy or hoarse. A recording of a 20-minute speech last month London showed Mr. Page noticeably pausing several times to swallow before continuing speak, but it is unclear whether that was a symptom of his current problem.

Some leadership experts contend Google should divulge about Mr. Page's voice problem. the CEO of a public company, "he's not entitled to his privacy,'' said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a senior associate dean Yale School of Management.

"We need to know it [his voice] is imperiled," he said.

The Google board should inform shareholders about the cause and likely duration of Mr. Page's condition, to Mr. Sonnenfeld, author of several leadership books. A degenerative health problem "could have a material adverse impact the company,'' he added.

Securities laws require publicly companies to disclose material information that could affect investors' decision acquire or sell shares. Directors decide what's material, , and many boards have trouble deciding how much tell shareholders about a CEO's sudden illness because corporate leaders prefer privacy.


Adapted and abridged from: The Wall Street Journal, June 22, 2012.