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Google's Sundar Pichai named CEO at Alphabet

December 3, 2019

Larry Page and Sergey Brin will remain employees of Alphabet and retain their seats on the board, but Sundar Pichai will now oversee Google's parent firm. Page and Brin created the internet giant 21 years ago.

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Google and Alphabet Inc.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/A. Pohl

Google chief Sundar Pichai was named Chief Executive of parent company Alphabet on Tuesday, during a reshuffle of executives.

Pichai will take over at Alphabet from Larry Page, a co-founder of Google. Alphabet was created through a corporate restructuring of the empire in 2015.

Sundar Pichai
Incoming Alphabet chief, Sundar Pichai, was lauded for his work as Google CEOImage: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Chiu

Google co-founder Sergey Brin — who was Alphabet's president until Tuesday's announcement — and Page "will continue their involvement as co-founders, shareholders and members of Alphabet's board of directors," the company said.

Fleeing the nest

They announced the news in a Google blog post, stating the company has "evolved and matured" since the pair founded it in 1998.

"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," they said.

Read more: Where's the moon? And other things Germans asked Google in 2018

Both founders will remain on the board, promising an active role, and praised incoming CEO of Pichai for his leadership of Google.

According to an Alphabet SEC filing in April, Page holds 42.9% of the company's Class B shares and 26.1% of its voting power. Brin holds 41.3% of the Class B shares and 25.2% of the voting power.

jsi/aw (AP, AFP)

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