Scribd announced that it has hired former Google staffer Robert R. Macdonald as senior vice president of business development to open a New York office for the upstart social publisher. Macdonald will be tasked with building a business development team for Scribd that will work out of the company’s soon-to-be-announced Manhattan location. While at Google, Macdonald spearheaded strategic partnerships with Google’s largest content partners such as The New York Times, Conde Nast, Hearst, the Tribune Co. and Gannett. He will devise Scribd's business development strategy, including relationships with major content, technology and consumer brands. He will report to CEO and co-founder Trip Adler.