San Francisco: His name may not ring a bell, but Google's new CEO Sundar Pichai has worked on some of the company's best-known products - from the Chrome browser to the Android mobile software.
Pichai, 43, was named chief executive officer of the Internet titan Monday, as Google unveiled a new corporate structure creating an umbrella company dubbed Alphabet.
He will oversee the biggest company under that umbrella, which will still be called Google and will continue to include some of its household products, including its search engine, ads, maps, apps, YouTube and the Android system.
Alphabet will be run by Google chief Larry Page, who showered praise upon Pichai, senior vice president of products. "I feel very fortunate to have someone as talented as he is to run the slightly slimmed down Google and this frees up time for me to continue to scale our aspirations," according to Page in a blog post.
Page said he was impressed with his "progress and dedication to the company" and promised to continue to groom Pichai, who has been at Google since 2004.
"I have been spending quite a bit of time with Sundar, helping him and the company in any way I can, and I will of course continue to do that."
In his role as SVP of products, Pichai oversees management, engineering and research for Google's products and platforms, according to Google's filing at the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Before that, he was SVP of Google Android, Chrome and Apps, working on consumer products "used by millions of people," the filing said.
Pichai was part of the team that launched the Chrome browser in 2008 and also worked on various search products,
including Google Toolbar, Desktop Search, Gadgets and Google Gears, according to the company.
Before joining Google, Pichai worked as an engineer at manufacturer Applied Materials, followed by a stint in management consulting at McKinsey & Company.
US media described him as soft-spoken, little-known, and a long-time right-hand man to mentor Page.
Originally from Tamil Nadu province in southeast India, Pichai received a Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur.
He also has a Master of Science from Stanford University and a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Page said Pichai is the man to steer the Google ship in the coming years, as it continues to innovate and expand its product base.
"Google itself is also making all sorts of new products, and I know Sundar will always be focused on innovation-continuing to stretch boundaries," he said.
"I know he deeply cares that we can continue to make big strides on our core mission to organise the world's information."
Who is Sundar Pichai?
Sundar Pichai, 43, is Google’s current senior vice president of products. He is founder Larry Page’s right-hand man. He's been named on Tuesday as the new CEO of the search computer giant Google. He is the company’s first non-white CEO.
What is his background?
Born in Chennai, India, Pichai will be the first CEO of Google that isn’t a white man. He studied engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur and went to America to study materials science and semiconductor physics at Stanford, though he eventually dropped out. He is joining Microsoft chief Satya Nadella as one of the few minority CEOs in Silicon Valley.
What's his role in Google?
He spearheaded the creation of Google Chrome, now the most popular browser in the US. Pichai started at Google in 2004 working on the search toolbar that the company puts in Internet browsers. Back then, though was still mainly known for its search engine, he thought Google should have its own browser. Chrome has eventually surpassed Microsoft’s Internet Explorer as the most popular web browser in the U.S. The Chrome brand has since expanded to include a successful line of laptops and streaming devices. He has slowly taken over almost all Google consumer products. Businessweek reported that following Chrome’s success, Pichai was made in charge of Gmail and Google Docs in 2011. In 2013, he took the helm over Android. It is one of the key Google divisions as the company battles Apple for supremacy in mobile devices. In 2014 he was named the company’s Android product chief, bringing services like Maps and Google+ under his wing as well.
What will he do at Google?
Google will retain core businesses, including search, ads, Maps, apps, YouTube and Android, meaning that tens of thousands of employees will still be reporting to Pichai.
The former consultant has risen through the ranks of Google over the last decade to become the most visible face at the company, serving as the master of ceremonies at Google’s annual I/O event and leading up almost all of the company’s key consumer products. Page has increasingly relied on Pichai since starting his second stint as Google’s CEO in 2011. Since restructuring in 2014, Page had already made Pichai’s unofficial No. 2. Now Page will have even more time to focus on Google’s other big bets while Pichai manages the company’s core competencies.
Unifier
Pichai is viewed as a unifier within Google. With more than 55,000 employees, getting the different divisions within Google to play nice together is an ongoing challenge. Pichai seems to have a knack for it. Since taking over Android he’s made big strides with Google Now by creating interdisciplinary teams from the company’s Android and search departments.
