Google's Sundar Pichai named CEO of parent Alphabet, as cofounders step aside

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has been named CEO of the internet search giant’s parent company Alphabet as well, with immediate effect, according to a December 3 press release by the company.

Pichai “will remain the CEO of Google, and assumes the role of managing Alphabet’s investment in its portfolio of Other Bets. Pichai will remain a member of Alphabet’s Board of Directors,” the company said in the release.

Page and Brin said about Pichai: “Sundar brings humility and a deep passion for technology to our users, partners and our employees every day. He’s worked closely with us for 15 years, through the formation of Alphabet, as CEO of Google, and a member of the Alphabet Board of Directors.”

“He shares our confidence in the value of the Alphabet structure, and the ability it provides us to tackle big challenges through technology. There is no one that we have relied on more since Alphabet was founded, and no better person to lead Google and Alphabet into the future,” they added.
Pichai is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kharagpur in India, where he won the Institute Silver medal. He holds a master's degree from Stanford University and an MBA from the Wharton School, where he was named a Siebel Scholar and a Palmer Scholar.

This move elevates Pichai further among global CEOs of Indian origin, especially in Silicon Valley, ranks which include Satya Nadella at Microsoft and Shantanu Narayen at Adobe Systems. Pichai joined Google in 2004 and helped lead the development of Google Toolbar and then Google Chrome, which grew to become the world’s most popular internet browser. In 2014, he was appointed to lead product and engineering for all of Google’s products and platforms, including Search, Maps, Play, Android, Chrome, Gmail and Google Apps (now G Suite).

Pichai became Google’s CEO in August 2015. He joined the Board of Directors of Alphabet, Google's parent company, in July 2017.

Under his leadership, Google has been focused on developing products and services powered by the latest advances in AI. It has invested in new opportunities such as Google Cloud and YouTube and has continued to be a leader in advanced technologies, including machine learning and quantum computing.

Pichai said in the press release: “I’m excited about Alphabet and its long term focus on tackling big challenges through technology. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Larry and Sergey in our new roles. Thanks to them, we have a timeless mission, enduring values, and a culture of collaboration and exploration. It’s a strong foundation on which we will continue to build.”

Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google in September 1998. Since then, the company has grown to more than 100,000 employees worldwide, with a wide range of popular products and platforms like Search, Maps, Ads, Gmail, Android, Chrome, Google Cloud and YouTube. Google went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange in August 2004. In October 2015, Alphabet became the parent holding company of Google.