In a letter to its employees, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have announced that Page would step down as CEO and current Google CEO Sundar Pichai will Replace him at the helm of the parent company Alphabet. Sergey Brin will also step down from his position as president of Alphabet.
“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,” The letter reads.
When it formed back in 2015, Alphabet was an effort by the founders to separate Google’s core business from it’s ‘other bets’ such as electric cars smart cars, biotech, and rural internet distribution. Ever since the formation of the company, Larry and Sergy have taken a back seat, and Pichai Has been the face of Google. Now Pichai will take the central role in all aspects of the company.
“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.”
The co-founders continued to praise Sundar in the letter, “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.”
Sundar, in a separate letter, reaffirmed the employees that the transition would not bring much change to the company’s core values and day to day operations. “I want to be clear that this transition won’t affect the Alphabet structure or the work we do day today. 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,” Pichai wrote. “At the same time, I’m excited about Alphabet and its long term focus on tackling big challenges through technology.”
