Larry Page and Sergey Brin decide to transition from their roles as CEO and President, respectively, of Alphabet.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, becomes CEO of both Google and Alphabet.
Page and Brin to remain active as co-founders, shareholders and board members of Alphabet.
For Page and Brin’s comments on the transition, see their letter on blog.google and included below: “We’ve never been ones to hold on to management roles when we think there’s a better way to run the company.”
Alphabet Inc.announced a management change. The change is effective immediately.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the CEO and President, respectively, of Alphabet, have decided to leave these roles. They will continue their involvement as co-founders, shareholders and members of Alphabet’s Board of Directors.
Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, becomes the CEO of Google and Alphabet. He 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.
John Hennessy, Chairman of Alphabet’s Board of Directors, said: “It’s impossible to overstate Larry and Sergey’s contributions over the past 21 years. I’m grateful that they will continue their involvement on the Board.”
Pichai said: “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.”
Speaking about Pichai, the founders said, “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.”
Prior that, Pichai had held a variety of roles at the company, including overseeing Chrome, product chief of Google and head of the Android operating system.