Final hours! Save up to 55% OFF InvestingProCLAIM SALE

Alphabet chief Pichai labored in trenches but rose to defend search giant

Published 10/30/2023, 04:53 PM
Updated 10/30/2023, 04:56 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, reacts during a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior officials and CEOs of American and Indian companies in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., J
GOOGL
-

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) CEO Sundar Pichai, who testified on Monday in Washington to defend Google against allegations it broke antitrust law, replaced company co-founder Larry Page as CEO of parent Alphabet in 2019 as regulatory concern about Big Tech was heading toward a fever pitch.

Here are some key facts about Pichai:

* Born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India on June 10, 1972

* An alumnus of Wharton business school, Stanford University and Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

* Worked at McKinsey & Co before Google

* Was hired by Google as a product engineer in April 2004

* Projects included using the URL bar to search as well as scaling up Google's Chrome browser, which launched in 2008, as a way to attract more queries to Google

* Pichai took over the Android business from that group's founder, Andy Rubin, managing the market-leading smartphone operating system globally

* He is also credited with the development of some of the company's most successful cloud-based apps, such as Gmail

* In 2014, then-Chief Executive Page put Pichai, one of his key lieutenants, in charge of the internet company's search, maps, Google+, commerce, advertising and infrastructure. The move was done to give Page fewer direct reports and product units to oversee.

* Pichai became CEO of Google in 2015 and all of Alphabet in 2019.

* Alphabet, Google's parent company, has a long list of other businesses. These include maps and Nest smart thermostats. Since Pichai became CEO, it acquired Fitbit (NYSE:FIT) in 2021 and the security company Mandiant in 2022.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, reacts during a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior officials and CEOs of American and Indian companies in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

* In February, Pichai introduced the artificial intelligence service Bard.

* Pichai's total compensation was about $226 million in 2022, more than 800 times the median employee's pay, the company said in a securities filing in April.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.