Palm has lost several key employees since the company put itself up for sale and HP's purchase of Palm doesn't look like it has helped stop the bleeding. All Things D has reported that Matias Duarte, Palm's Senior Director of Human Interface and User Experience and a huge part of the creation of webOS, has left the company and may be heading to Google to work on Android. Palm confirmed Duarte's departure but would not say where he was headed. However, John Paczkowski of All Things D reports that "multiple sources say it's Google." Before working for Palm, Duarte was a major part in creating both the Helio and Sidekick devices. This could be big for Google and Android as there have been many complaints of UI issues with the mobile OS, and Duarte could could certainly help increase the look and the usability of Android.
Via All Things D