San Francisco (AFP)
Sundar Pichai, boss of Google, takes over the head of Alphabet, his parent company, announced the group Tuesday. He replaces Larry Page who founded the Internet giant 21 years ago with Sergey Brin.
"If the company was a person, it would be a young adult of 21 years and it would be time to leave the nest. (...) We think it is time to assume the role of proud parents, who offer advice and love, but not a nagging daily surveillance! ", wrote the two founders, who remain shareholders and board members of Alphabet.
Alphabet was founded in 2015 to encompass all non-core activities of the group, from Waymo's autonomous cars to the "Smart Cities" subsidiary of Sidewalk Labs.
Sundar Pichai, 47, takes the reins of a colossus that employs more than 100,000 people worldwide, and is now entangled in many controversies related to its dominance on the internet and in technology in general.
Born in a modest environment in Chennai, India, he studied at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kharagpur before moving to the United States to continue his studies (notably at Stanford University) and launch his career. .
"Sundar brings humility and a passion for technology to our users, partners and employees on a daily basis. (...) We could not have done better to lead Google and Alphabet into the future. "said Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who have not been around for several years.
© 2019 AFP