Verily Life Sciences, an Alphabet subsidiary that's using artificial intelligence and data science to make a splash in precision medicine, hired drug distributor McKesson's chief compliance officer as general counsel.

Laura O'Donnell is coming aboard at a time of rapid-fire change for the 8-year-old, San Francisco-based company. Since last fall, Verily has made sweeping leadership changes, including the appointment of a new CEO, narrowed its focus, laid off 15% of its 1,600 employees and received a $1 billion infusion from Alphabet to fund its next phase of growth.