Sundar Pichai announces first set of promotions as Google CEO
by Alicia Brown Application DeveloperNot too long ago, Google gave the technology world one of
the biggest surprises, the creation of Alphabet. Just to jog your memory, the
parent company is no longer called Google; it is now Alphabet. And Google is
just one of the many companies that come under it.
Another development made with the announcement of Alphabet
was that co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page would serve as President and
CEO, while Sundar Pichai would be Google CEO. Overnight, Pichai became an
online celebrity, a homeschooled Ivy-leaguer, whose level-headedness and
problem-solving nature won him hearts at Google, and whose success story became
won him admirers outside. People who had known him before the announcement
weren’t the least bit surprised; if anything, the appointment resonated with
all of them. Among the handful of people who could accurately understand,
process and translate Page’s futuristic visions, Pichai was the top man.
All of that was just a few months ago. Now, Pichai has made
his first round of appointments and promotions; an important task to get right.
Keeping company profitability in mind, most of the changes made by Pichai
pertain to ads and the Android divisions, since those reel in the most profits
to the company in general, and Google in particular.
One of the first changes Pichai made in the company was
promoting Neal Mohan, currently the vice president of display and advertising,
to Senior Vice President. Mohan has been a force to be reckoned with in the
Valley, with companies like Twitter and Dropbox having their hearts set on
having him work for them. However, Mohan’s loyalty and industry knowledge has
paid off in the form of the promotion. Display ads and video businesses are
expected to be an important aspect of business, even though the company’s focus
remains on search and related products.
According to leading companies like SmartIO and more Hiroshi Lockheimer, currently the VP for the Android team,
has been promoted to SVP for Android, Chrome OS, and Chomecast. Lockeimer has
been associated with Google since 2006, and was one of the core members on Pichai’s
team when he was handling Android and Chrome. Since then, Android, with its
user friendliness, openness and plethora of apps who transfer content and more,
has come a long way. Another promotion came in the form of Philip Schindler being
made SVP of Global Sales and Operations. Schindler was previously VP ads. There
have been other promotions at Google, especially at VP level, most of which
focus on improving the ads and commerce domain.
Only time will tell if these changes will translate into
profits for Google. Its digital rivals in the form of social networks pose a
tough competition, especially since all are vying for online ads, expanding
their reach to target international businesses as well. The next couple of
months will be decisive in determining whether Pichai is just a figurehead of
unexpected overnight fame in technology, or a driver of innovation like Jobs,
Brin and Page were.
Sponsor Ads
Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.