- Alphabet co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin announced that they are stepping down from their respective roles as CEO and president of the company. And Google CEO Sundar Pichai is getting promoted to CEO of Alphabet.
Alphabet co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin announced that they are stepping down from their respective roles as CEO and president of the company. And Google CEO Sundar Pichai is getting promoted to CEO of Alphabet. Going forward, Page and Brin will remain on the board as major shareholders.
“We are deeply committed to Google and Alphabet for the long term, and will remain actively involved as board members, shareholders and co-founders,” wrote Page and Brin in a note. “In addition, we plan to continue talking with Sundar regularly, especially on topics we’re passionate about!”
Page and Brin launched Google in 1998 while enrolled in PhD programs at Stanford University. Then they hired Eric Schmidt to lead Google between 2001 and 2011. Page re-assumed the role as CEO in 2011 and then became CEO of Alphabet following a reorganization at Google. Before Pichai became Google’s CEO in 2015, he was the company’s Product Chief.
After Google and Alphabet restructured in 2015, the two co-founders have staying under-the-radar. They will still control Alphabet through special voting stock.
“Today, in 2019, if the company was a person, it would be a young adult of 21 and it would be time to leave the roost. While it has been a tremendous privilege to be deeply involved in the day-to-day management of the company for so long, we believe it’s time to assume the role of proud parents—offering advice and love, but not daily nagging!” Page and Brin added. “With Alphabet now well-established, and Google and the Other Bets operating effectively as independent companies, it’s the natural time to simplify our management structure. We’ve never been ones to hold on to management roles when we think there’s a better way to run the company. And Alphabet and Google no longer need two CEOs and a President. Going forward, Sundar will be the CEO of both Google and Alphabet. He will be the executive responsible and accountable for leading Google, and managing Alphabet’s investment in our portfolio of Other Bets. We are deeply committed to Google and Alphabet for the long term, and will remain actively involved as Board members, shareholders and co-founders. In addition, we plan to continue talking with Sundar regularly, especially on topics we’re passionate about!”
Alphabet’s subsidiaries include Calico, CapitalG, Chronicle, DeepMind, Google, Google Fiber, GV, Jigsaw, Loon, Makani, Sidewalk Labs, Verily, Waymo, Wing, and X.
“I first met Larry and Sergey back in 2004 and have been benefiting from their guidance and insights ever since. The good news is I’ll continue to work with them — although in different roles for them and me. They’ll still be around to advise as board members and co-founders,” commented Pichai. “I want to be clear that this transition won’t affect the Alphabet structure or the work we do day to day. I will continue to be very focused on Google and the deep work we’re doing to push the boundaries of computing and build a more helpful Google for everyone. At the same time, I’m excited about Alphabet and its long term focus on tackling big challenges through technology.”
Photo Credit: Google
