Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have announced that they are stepping down from the leadership role of the parent company Alphabet Inc. In their place, Google’s Chief Executive, Indian-American Sundar Pichai will be assuming the role of Alphabet CEO. Page and Google co-founder Sergey Brin “will continue their involvement as co-founders, shareholders and members of Alphabet’s board of directors,” the company said. However, Pichai made it clear that the managerial transition will not affect the structure of the company or their day-to-day work.
Alphabet was formed in 2015, giving a separate identity to the original company Google and other projects such as autonomous car unit Waymo and smart cities group Sidewalk Labs. Pichai is set to take over the company at a point when it faces antitrust investigations and controversies over privacy and data practices in the United States and elsewhere. The company also faced allegations for being unable to address sexual harassment in the workplace. In taking up the role of CEO for Alphabet Inc., Pichai will have to face up to claims by the U.S. President, Donald Trump of “bias” in internet search results, as well as the latest charge from Amnesty International that its business model leads to human rights violations by enabling surveillance of users. It is the end of an era for Google as the founders step aside to make way for Indian-born Sundar Pichai to take on the role of CEO for both Google and its partner company, Alphabet Inc.
Born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India on June 10, 1972, Pichai is an alumnus of Wharton business school, Stanford University and Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He has been widely credited for making the Google Chrome browser. A year after Pichai took over Android, Google shipped 1 billion devices. Prior to taking over as CEO, Pichai was in charge of product and engineering at Google’s Internet-businesses. He was appointed the CEO of Googel in November, 2015.
Sundar Pichai wrote on Twitter, “I’m excited about Alphabet’s long term focus on tackling big challenges through technology. Thanks to Larry & Sergey, we have a timeless mission, enduring values and a culture of collaboration & exploration - a strong foundation we’ll continue to build on.”
If you enjoyed reading this article, we suggest you also read: